


Til Death Do Us Part

by NeuroWriter14



Series: The Masters of Death [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Deamus, Enemies to Lovers, I am constantly editing chapters for grammar and spelling errors so just be aware, I am constantly editing tags too, I'm Sorry, Mild Language, Multi, PTSD, PTSD mentions, This is not a work for Hinny shippers, jily, mentions of torture, or for Tonks/Lupin shippers, some greek mythology, tomarry - Freeform, we'll see how this goes, wolfstar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-04
Updated: 2017-01-14
Packaged: 2018-09-14 17:27:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 54,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9196112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeuroWriter14/pseuds/NeuroWriter14
Summary: "No spell can rewaken the dead, Harry.No spell can reawaken the dead, Harry.No spell can reawaken the dead, Harry."Dumbledore's words from a lifetime ago echoed inside his head. He closed his eyes, not being able to fully comprehend what was going on around him.It must be a dream. Harry thought again."Harry?"Harry opened his eyes slowly, blinking until his vision focused on the person who's face hovered above him."Dad?"





	1. Prologue: The Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Harry Potter.

_Harry stood facing the Dark Wizard in front of him. He had been tracking this man for months. They stared at each other, leveling each other, eye to eye. Harry's brilliant, green eyes shone with a fury that was entirely unexpected from the Potter man. Who would expect the pure rage which exuded from the raven haired man as he paced, slowly? The two wizards circled one another._

_Harry's opponent, an equally sized blonde man with cold blue eyes, shivered under the glare of the famous Harry Potter._

_No one ever expected Harry to be so ruthless as he hunted the man down. But with the man in front of him now, it was hard not to notice the pure, unending anger of the Boy Who Lived. Harry had been tracking the man ever since he had started attacking children. Something about it, the attacks on children, made Harry's blood boil in a way that it only had once before in his life. It reminded him, strangely, of his fifth year at Hogwarts, right after seeing Cedric die. Right after watching Voldemort rise. Right after being tortured and force to duel. Maybe it was because it reminded him of another_ _megalomaniac who attacked children. And Harry Potter was angry._

_The room shook with magic, Harry's magic. He couldn't keep it controlled. His anger reached every corner. The other aurors in the room watched, shocked into silence as the two men circled, predator and prey, waiting. Waiting for one to attack. But Harry wasn't going to attack. Harry wasn't going to attack first. He hadn't attacked first in a long time. The first thought that came to mind was when the Carrow man, whatever his name was, it wasn't coming to mind now; spit in McGonagall's face. Harry had been all too eager to attack first then. But now, he was waiting. His eyes, those Avara Kedavra green orbs, shone in the darkness of the room as they pierced the man before him._

_No one attacked children and got away with it. It wasn't allowed. It shouldn't be allowed. Harry wasn't going to let it stand._

_So he paced, he circled. Like a caged animal._

_The other man, Harry hadn't bothered to learn his name, was shaking as Harry's magic crackled around the room. Little lightening strikes went off, here and there. Thunderous booms echoed in the cold stone chamber, which grew warmer and warmer with every lightening strike._

_The other man finally grew wary of watching the head of the Potter house circle him and he finally struck. Curses, hexes, spells. They flew back and forth. One to the other. The man, Harry, the man, Harry, the man, Harry. Back and forth. They were angry, vibrant spells. The tension, the magic, was palpable in the room._

_They shot back and forth, going for minutes._

_Harry wasn't expecting what came next. He wasn't expecting it at all._

_The Dark Wizard shot out an eye surrounded by a large triangle. The eye glowed a vibrant red then changed to a yellow and continued to shift through the colors of the rainbow. Harry and the other aurors were all distracted by it, too distracted to notice that the other wizard was muttering something under his breath. Too distracted to notice that it was too long to be the Avada Kedavra. Too distracted to notice when the wizard pointed his wand directly at the chest of Harry James Potter. Too distracted to notice when the man twirled his wrist and muttered "Ad finem."_

_But Harry did notice the flash of green that shot toward his chest. He felt it when it hit him, like a double decker bus running him over. He flew backward, landing flat on his back. His eyes were only open long enough to see the flash of curses above him, aimed at the Dark Wizard, before they slid shut and Harry Potter's world went black._

* * *

_Harry lied on his back, staring at the ceiling of his house. Ginny slept beside him, her breath deep with sleep. He couldn't help the smile that pulled at his lips when he turned to look at her. She looked so peaceful in her sleep. He turned over on his side and pulled off his glasses, shutting his eyes._

_"...Harry."_

_The voice of Voldemort made his eyes shoot open again. He wondered if there would ever be a point in which he didn't have to listen to that arctic voice whisper his name, haunting him in his sleep. He rubbed his eyes and tried again._

_"...Harry."_

Go away.  _He thought violently at the voice of Lord Voldemort. But the voice continued inside his head. It taunted him, playing with him._

_Sometimes Harry had to wonder if his whole life wasn't just a lie and that he was just living inside on of his nightmares. Maybe Voldemort was actually out_ _there, taunting him. Maybe he was just planting dreams in his head, like the vision he had done with Sirius. Maybe he had never really defeated Voldemort. Maybe it was all just one big, horrible dream._

* * *

_Falling. He was falling. He couldn't see anything but a blur of color around him. He heard voices but he couldn't distinguish any one over the sound of wind rushing past his ears._

_He knew he couldn't keep falling forever, eventually there would be a bottom. He would land. He groped for his wand, but he couldn't feel it. All he could feel was the wind rushing over his body as he went down._

_Down._

_Down._

_Down._

**_CRACK._ **

* * *

_Harry rocked his child in his arms. James Sirius was finally calming down. It took forever but Harry's bouncing walking seemed to eventually fall asleep. Harry still didn't let his child go, though. He looked down at the dark haired boy in his arms. He knew that James would grow up looking exactly like him, just as he looked like his father before him. With one minor change, of course. His eyes. He would have his mother's eyes. Harry had Lily's eyes. James had Ginny's eyes. It made him laugh a bit._

_How much would his children really be like him? How much would they be like Ginny? Would James be like him as much as Harry had been like his own father? If they had any other children, would they be like him? Or would his and Ginny's children be more like Ginny?_

_Harry continued to bounce his child more._

_"You can put him down now Harry." Ginny's voice broke him from his revelry._

_"Yes, I know." He answered. "But I don't want to."_

* * *

_Harry tried to walk with James attached to his leg. It was much harder to bounce Albus with James wrapped around him. He couldn't help but smile at both of his sons. They were the lights of his life. Albus yawned in his arms, staring at him with his large, round, beautiful, sky colored eyes._

_Harry pressed his lips to his son's forehead and closed his eyes_ _momentarily. He could stay in this moment forever. With James wrapped around his leg and Albus wrapped in his arms. If he could, he would. Because he desperately wanted to._

_Albus fell asleep in Harry's arms._

_"I don't know how you do it." Ginny muttered, a yawn creeping across her face before she could stifle it._

_"Do what?" Harry asked, staring down at his sleeping son._

_"Put them to sleep. They just fall asleep in your arms. It takes me forever to get them to sleep."_

_Harry shrugged. "I don't know." He answered honestly. "Guess it's just something about me. You fall asleep in my arms too."_

_Harry bent down and grabbed his oldest son, wrapping him tightly in his arms. "Come on there my little buck. Time for your nap too." James was about to complain but it was quickly cut off by a yawn. Harry couldn't help but smirk slightly as he took his oldest into his own room. James's snores echoed against Harry's chest as he sat down on his son's bed. He patted down James's hair, which was more tamable than his own, before he lied the child down next to him. He sat there with James for a moment before he kissed his son's forehead and stood. He pulled the blanket over the sleeping form of James Sirius Potter then slipped out of the room, quietly._

_"Come on there mama bear." Harry muttered as he picked up Ginny, who was nearly dead on her feet. Ginny had barely slept since Albus had been born. One would think she would have been used to it, since she had dealt with it before with James. But she was exhausted. Ginny tried to say something about being ok, but it never made it out of her lips. She too fell asleep against Harry's chest as he carried the red headed witch into their shared room. He set her down gently and covered her with the blankets on their bed. He watched her sleep for a moment, stroking her hair and running a finger down her cheek before he turned on his heal and left._

* * *

_Lily's wide eyes stared at him with curiosity. It was like she could understand everything going on around her. He couldn't help but smile. "I bet you'll be just as smart as your grandmother." He whispered against her hair. Her fiery red hair rivaled that of her mother. James and Albus had rooms right next to one another on the second floor of their house. Lily's room was directly across from Albus's and bathroom was right next to her room. On the bottom floor was Harry and Ginny's room as well as the kitchen, living room, Harry's study, and a spare bedroom. When James and Albus had been born, both Harry and Ginny had spent a lot of time sleeping upstairs in the room which was now Lily's to watch over them._

_Now Harry often found himself dosing in the chair in Lily's room after he lied her down. But now he was awake and bouncing his youngest child. She giggled slightly at the faces Harry made at her._

_"Ok now my little one. I need you to sleep. We can play more when you wake up. Your mother is in desperate need of nap too, you know."_

_As if she understood him, Lily yawned. Harry kissed her cheek and she shut her eyes, slowly drifting into sleep._

_Albus was already asleep and James had stopped taking naps around the time that Lily was born._

_He set Lily Luna in her bed, covering her. She smiled slightly as he drifted a finger over her cheek, then he slid out of the room quietly. He beckoned James to follow him and James went willingly._

_"We cannot wake them up." He whispered to his oldest child. James nodded eagerly._

_"Alright. Come on then."_

* * *

_Harry looked down at the papers on his desk. His stomach churned as he read the notes. The wizard attacked children and seemed to get some kind of pleasure from it. Witnesses had heard him cackling gleefully. He felt sick. Incredibly sick._

_It made his stomach flip and his blood boil. He wanted to find this wizard and make him pay for everything he did to those children. They were just children._

_Children didn't deserve to be hurt._

* * *

_Tom Riddle was a child who had no one to defend him. No one who was willing to stand up for him until it was too late. The damage was already done._

_Tom Riddle was a boy who_ needed  _love._

_Harry Potter was a child who had no one to defend him. But for him, it wasn't too late. His everlasting, overwhelming capacity for love saved him._

_Harry Potter was a boy who_ wanted  _love._

* * *

_"Dad, what's a Dementor?"_

_Harry's mind immediately flashed back to seeing his first Dementor in his third year at Hogwarts. He heard his mother's screams echo in his head again. He saw flashes of green. He watched Sirius float into the veil. He looked down at Remus's body. "Take Harry! I'll hold him off!" Dobby bleeding out in his arms. Cedric dying in a brilliant flash of emerald._

_"The worst thing you can ever imagine."_

* * *

_Harry felt like his entire body hurt. He hit the floor with a hard crack, wondering if it was the floor or his skull which made the noise. He couldn't open his eyes. Not yet. It was too much. The voice swirled around him, like he was in a cyclone. He felt dizzy in every sense of the word._

_It took a moment, but eventually he was able to open his eyes. Somehow, his glasses were on his face, even after his fall. He shifted and looked around him. He felt very really. Maybe he wasn't dead after all. It felt like when he had come back after Voldemort struck him down in the Forbidden Forest. His body ached from his crash. Was it possible that he wasn't dead? What had that curse done to him? It was bright green like the Avada Kedavra but..._

* * *

_Harry looked down at his body and then back at the wizard he had been tracking. It was his first case as an auror and part of him couldn't have been more nervous. He had already dealt with one Dark Wizard, as a matter of fact_ THE Dark Lord.  _But it didn't seem to make much of a difference. He was worried._

_But now, he felt cold. He couldn't describe what had just happened. It made no sense to him._

_The other wizard looked just as stunned as he felt. Harry couldn't help it. "Did you just..." He trailed off as the other wizard nodded._

_"STUPEFY!"_

_Once the other wizard was debilitated, he looked down at himself again. The Avada Kedavra hadn't effected him at all. It was just absorbed within his chest like it was nothing._

_Why hadn't it killed him?_

* * *

_Harry could have sworn when he opened his eyes that he saw Fred Weasley and a young Remus Lupin staring at him. Remus's eyes were filled with concern but Harry couldn't look for too long. His own head felt too heavy to keep up. He looked up at the starry ceiling above him, realizing it was the Great Hall of Hogwarts._

I'm dreaming.  _He thought to himself. There was no other explanation. Well, there was one. But it was implausible. Harry couldn't die. Not anymore. He hadn't been able to die for a long time now._

_"No spell can rewaken the dead, Harry._  
_No spell can reawaken the dead, Harry._  
_No spell can reawaken the dead, Harry."_

_Dumbledore's words from a lifetime ago echoed inside his head. He closed his eyes, not being able to fully comprehend what was going on around him._

It must be a dream.  _Harry thought again._

_"Harry?"_

_Harry opened his eyes slowly, blinking until his vision focused on the person who's face hovered above him._

_"Dad?"_


	2. The God of Thunder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is some huge canon divergence in this chapter. Just a warning. Also this is where we get into the weird stuff even more. I hope you like it.

"Dad?" 

James Potter had never been referred to by that term in his life, and it made him shudder to suddenly have his son, his exact duplicate, refer to him as such. Harry blinked up at him with round, vibrant green eyes. Dumbstruck by his son before him, James weakly nodded his head and pulled his son into a sitting position. Harry sat up slowly, his blazing eyes focused on him and him alone. James could feel the intensity behind the gaze as though Harry thought that if he blinked, James might disappear. James's hazel eyes were caught in Harry's vibrant emerald gaze and the two just stared for a moment. James knelt next to his son, holding him up. Harry crashed to the floor moment before from the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall. James was sure that Harry was gravely injured, but Sirius assured him that Harry would be ok. Now the pair just sat staring at one another, as though the other would vanish inexplicably. James didn't even notice that his and Harry's hands were clasped until Harry's finger twitched but he still didn't look away from his son's gaze. 

"Is it..." Harry started, but he couldn't seem to say any more as his eyes suddenly started welling with tears. James felt his heart breaking inside his chest. He wanted to do anything, anything to make sure that his son was not in any pain. He and Harry were silent for a moment more as Harry regained his composure, not one tear actually rolling down his cheek. "Is it really you?" Harry tried again, his voice barely above a whisper. James was struck with how similar Harry's voice was to his own. In fact he was struck with their similarities entirely. Harry's raven black hair was identical to his own, his build was identical, his voice, but... James couldn't help but see Lily in Harry's face. His eyes were Lily's eyes, his facial structure was Lily's facial structure, even the way he bit his lip as he waited for James to answer was Lily's. 

"Yes, Harry." James murmured. "It's really me." 

Harry attacked him at once, wrapping him in a hug that was far too strong for his lithe build. Harry had his face buried in James's neck, his arms entirely wound around James's body, embracing him tightly as if he were afraid that James might float away if he let go. James own arms came around his son and he nearly let out a gasp of anguish at how thin Harry really was. But in the moment, it didn't matter. Nothing mattered. It didn't matter that he hadn't gotten to raise Harry. It didn't matter that he hadn't seen his son in thirty or so years. It didn't matter that some mysterious force brought them together now. All that mattered to James was that his son was here and that he got to finally hold his son again. 

There was a choked sob somewhere in the background, but James ignored it, his focus entirely on the raven haired, green eyed boy in his arms. It probably should have worried James that Harry, much like everyone else who had appeared, was in the body of an eleven year old child, yet it didn't. Nothing could have bothered James in that moment. Not even Severus Snape staring at him from a distance. He finally got to hug his son again. As far as James was concerned, as long as Harry wanted it, he would never let go. James felt something hot and wet roll down his neck and he could only assume that meant that Harry had actually started crying this time. James hugged his son tighter to him. "I've got you Harry." James whispered. "And I'm not going to let go. I promise." He could feel Harry nod but he didn't answer. 

James was unsure of how long they sat there, but eventually Harry pulled away, wiping his face as he did. Harry broke into a crooked grin which James felt himself mirroring on his own face. He couldn't help it. 

"Woah. That is going to take some getting use to."

Harry's head snapped away from James so fast James was sure Harry was going to get whiplash. Harry's grin broadened. 

"Sirius!"

"The one and only!"

Harry launched himself up and at Sirius, who was standing with his arms spread. Harry nearly tackled his godfather, which James couldn't help but laugh at. Sirius looked like he was on the verge of tears himself as he held Harry and Harry vibrated with an energy that James couldn't quite place. James stood, dusting himself off. He continued to watch Harry and Sirius. Harry pulled back, grinning like fool as he looked at Sirius. Sirius's lopsided grin was one James knew was reserved for certain people. Sirius placed his hands on either side of Harry's face, looking him over. 

"I didn't know you were this malnourished when you were with you Aunt and Uncle." Sirius muttered bitterly, his expression darkening.

"What?" Harry asked, clearly confused. Then he looked down at himself. "Oh." 

"Yes, evidently we are all in our eleven year old bodies." Sirius answered, his voice clipped. 

Harry merely shrugged. "That was a long time ago. I forgave them."

James watched as Sirius's grin came back in full force and he pulled Harry into another crushing hug. "Always with such a kind heart."

"Unfailingly kind, even when others don't deserve it." Remus piped up. "Even when it requires being on the verge of cruel, there is still kindness and love behind it the likes of which I have never seen before." 

Harry tore himself from Sirius's grasp as he turned to look for the source of the voice, his eyes landing on Remus. "Remus!"

Harry ran. Remus ran too.

They collided in a hug that made a noise as their bodies made an impact, but neither party seemed to care. Harry was so overjoyed, he picked Remus up and swung him around. James couldn't help it, he laughed and heard his own laugh echoed in a bark laugh from Sirius. He pulled away from Remus quicker than he did from Sirius but James could see Harry's eyes alive with excitement. "Remus!" He exclaimed again. "Your son, Teddy!" Harry seemed breathless. He was gripping Remus's forearms as though he though Remus might start flying. "He's amazing!" 

Harry paused to regain his breath and was clearly about to speak again when another voice interrupted him. "Harry?" 

It wasn't a voice that James recognized, but Harry clearly did, because his face fell and he spun, looking for the source. The boy appeared, his hair a bright blue. He stood the exact same height as Remus, his limbs dangling very similar to how Remus's were and his eyes were a vibrant amber but he had higher cheekbones and thicker lips. The boy swallowed as he looked at Harry. "Harry?" He asked again and Harry nodded walking forward, opening his arms. The boy ran, collapsing into them. The boy was clearly relieved to see Harry as he was surrounded by unfamiliar people.

"Harry, what's going on?" The boy asked when he pulled away. 

"I'm not sure. But we'll get to that later." Harry's voice was tight as though he were fearing the worst and James had to admit, part of him was too. Could they all really be dead? He knew that the people in the room before Harry arrived were, or at least he thought they all were, he didn't notice the blue haired boy arrive. Was this some sort of weird afterlife meeting? If so, who else would be joining them and when? 

Harry's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "But first there's someone I want you to meet." Harry pulled the boy toward Remus. "Teddy, this is Remus, your father." 

The room seemed to freeze. Harry's voice had been hesitant and he still had a hand on Teddy's arm. Teddy was staring at Remus and Remus looked like he had been struck by lightening. Neither of them moved for a moment and that moment seemed to stretch on forever. It was Teddy who seemed to unfreeze first. He approached Remus carefully, reaching a hand out to touch his face. Remus stayed frozen. 

"You're...you're real." Teddy breathed and Remus couldn't help but let out a breathy laugh. He nodded at his son. "Oh my god." Harry took a step back from the pair as Teddy wrapped his arms around Remus who still looked shellshocked. Just when it looked like Teddy might pull away, Remus's arms came around him, holding him. It was very similar to the exchange between Harry and James not long before. 

Harry, grinning, turned away and looked around the room, but his grin faltered when it fell on one other person. The two of them stared at one another as if the other one was a ghost. James looked back and forth between the two, wondering which one would break first. Harry seemed to stop breathing entirely. 

Lily Potter in all her beauty, even at eleven, stood a little off to the side, watch the exchange. When Harry originally fell from the ceiling, James had said it should be Lily who he saw first, but Lily had said that it should be James because he and Harry were so much a like. She had been behind Harry when he woke up, so he hadn't seen her, but now he saw her. His face contorted from looking like he had seen a ghost to awestruck like he was looking at an angel, in which James was inclined to agree. To him, Lily was an angel. What little chatter had started in the hall was silenced the moment Harry laid eyes on the girl with fiery red hair. Their matching emerald gazes were fixed on one another. Harry still didn't appear to be breathing and James wondering when his son's face would turn blue. But it didn't. Harry just stared and Lily just stared back. 

"M-mom?" Harry's voice cracked. 

* * *

Harry pictured meeting his parents several times of the course of his life. He had briefly talked to them in the Forbidden Forest when he was on his way to meet Voldemort, but as he grew older he realized that wasn't really his parents. The whole point of the first two items of the Hallows were to drawn people toward their deaths. The Elder Wand did a very good job at that, jumping from wizard to wizard, inciting violence wherever it went. But the Resurrection Stone was far more subtle. It lured people to their deaths with the promise of seeing their lost loved ones again. It had done so with the second Peverell brother and had done so with Harry himself as he trudged forward to meet the Dark Lord. Harry wasn't really certain if meeting his parents in the Mirror of Erised could really count as meeting his parents because they were brought forth of his own desire, not really the actual people themselves. Then there was Priori Encantantem. Was that really his parents? Or was that just an echo of the people who died at the hands of Voldemort. They spoke as if they were sentient like his parents. 

_"No spell can reawaken the dead Harry."_

Through the years Dumbledore's words echoed in his mind. Yet he knew he would die someday. Eventually he would meet his parents again, he hoped...in death. It was a bit of a morbid thought, but unlike Voldemort, Harry never feared death. There had been a couple cases in which he would have welcomed it, but it never came. He often thought back to the story of the Deathly Hallows and how the third brother welcomed Death like an old friend. Harry knew, he felt it in his heart of hearts, that that was him. When Death came for him, he wouldn't be afraid. He would accept his fate. Because Harry wasn't Voldemort. 

When Harry met his father, it was like meeting an old friend again, much like it was with Sirius. Something about James Potter just clicked with Harry, like the two of them had known each other for a life time. Seeing his surrogate father again, Sirius, was much like he expected it to be. He was overjoyed. Sirius had been like a father and brother to him and Harry's heart was shattered when he lost Sirius. Seeing Remus again was a whole other type of gut wrenching, but it was good. He couldn't help but feel a combination of overwhelming joy and sadness as he clutched the dangling eleven year old werewolf to him. Much like Sirius and his father, Harry didn't want to let Remus go, but he was overcome with the excitement to tell Remus about their shared link, Teddy. 

But seeing Lily...that was whole different animal. It took all of Harry's composure to stay on his feet. He wanted to fall to his knees and crawl over to his mother, wrap himself around her legs, and cry. He wanted to beg her to never let him go. He wanted to wrap her in his arms and hide her away from the world so that no harm would ever come to her again. He wanted to shout and he wanted to scream and he wanted to let every emotion that was swelling inside his chest to explode forward. But he didn't. It took every ounce of strength he had. Every bit of his magic wanted to fly out of control. He contained it. It took a great amount of effort, but he stayed frozen, petrified, staring at his mother. He tried to get himself to calm down.  _It's no different than seeing any of the others._ He tried to rationalize to himself. But in all reality, it was. There was something about the bond between mother and son, something that was more overwhelming than the one between him and his father. 

His mother was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, aside from his own children. She was like an angel to him. 

"M-mom?" He eventually choked out, his voice cracking as he did. Lily nodded. She moved forward slowly as though Harry might start hastily retreating from her if she moved too fast. But Harry wasn't moving. She could have rushed her like he had done with others before and he still wouldn't have moved. He was brick wall at the moment. Lily continued to advance toward him and eventually they were face to face. 

"Hello Harry." She whispered. Her voice was like music to him and he fell, right into her waiting arms. Their embrace was nothing like Harry had ever felt before. It was the calmest he had ever felt in his life. The two of them collapsed to the floor, arms wrapped around one another, Harry shaking. He didn't know why he was shaking when he felt so calm, but he was. Lily was stroking his hair and he felt his eyes close, losing himself in his embrace with his mother.  _This is the first hug with my mother I'll actually be able to remember._ He thought idly. He didn't know when, but at some point James had moved closer. He felt his father's arms come around them too and Harry pulled him into the embrace. His face was buried between their shoulders. 

He didn't know when he had started crying but when he pulled away his glasses where foggy from tears and his cheeks were wet. Lily ran her thumb over Harry's face, wiping away the tears. Then Harry couldn't help it, for no reason he started laughing. It came from no where, uncontrolled and outrageous, but he couldn't stop it. It appeared to be contagious because once he started, James followed suit, and Lily was not long behind him. The three of them laughed in their little pile. 

When Harry was finally able to control himself, he looked at his parents with a smile on his face. "I love you both." He said, his voice a lot stronger than he thought it would be. Lily beamed at him and James looked as though he might cry himself. "I love you too, Harry." They chorused. 

Harry eventually tore himself away from his parents to see who else was there. He found Dumbledore, who smiled at him fondly. "Isn't love a wonderful thing?" Dumbledore asked him. 

"Love is something alright." Harry answered as he grinned at the professor, who looked exactly as Harry remembered him. 

Harry found Snape next, who was surprisingly an adult even though the others from his generation, Sirius, Lily, Remus, and James; were all in eleven year old bodies. "What do I call you?" Harry asked tentatively. 

Snape eyed him warily before answering. "Professor Snape, I would think still." 

Harry let out a laugh. "Well that's a little weird though don't you think? I did name one of my sons after you." 

Harry walked away before Snape could answer, but he could see the befuddled look on his former professor's face. There were quite a few people Harry didn't recognize floating around, chatting with others. Everyone seemed to recognize someone else. Harry was particularly struck with two men. 

Both were incredibly tall, which is what first drew Harry to them. Both appeared to be about 16 in age, though there was no real way to tell. They had the type of face that could be 16 or thirty depending on the light. One had silvery hair and vibrant piercing blue eyes which rivaled Dumbledore's. His cheekbones were so high and sharp they looked like they could cut someone and his cheeks themselves were hallow. He had a slim structure, despite his height, and lean muscles which could easily be seen through his tight fitting emerald clothing. His lips were thin and pale but that didn't detract from his look at all, if anything it made him look more handsome and alluring. The other man stood to his right. He hair was a deep brown with hints of red which Harry could barely see unless he moved just right in the light. He had much wider shoulders and more obvious muscle tone than the silvery man next to him. His eyes were such a deep brown that they appeared black unless, like his hair, he moved into just the right light. Unlike the man next to him who was dressed in emerald robes, he was dressed in a vibrant red t-shirt with a golden lion on it which was spread across his muscled chest and a pair of tight fitting jeans which showed off every curve in his legs. Harry had to admit that this man was handsome too. 

The green eyed Potter boy couldn't force himself to address the two strange men in the corner, though he desperately wanted to. Something about the both of them called to him. Their eyes scanned the room entirely, as if they were watching everything, seeing everything. The brunet had muscled arms crossed over his chest as he leaned casually against the wall, his legs also crossed. His companion was much more tense his arms also crossed, but he stood tersely. 

Harry eventually tore his gaze away from the two of them only to have it fall on two others, only these two were women. They were much more inviting than the two intimating men. They both were just a head shorter than the men. One had hair that was almost yellow in color, tan skin, and grass colored eyes. She seemed to bounce where she stood. She had slim build which looked like it could be swept away in a strong breeze. She smiled widely at everyone as she too observed. She wore a yellow sundress and in her hair was braided sunflowers. Next to her stood another brunet only her eyes were more of chocolate color. Her dress was royal blue and it seemed shimmer and sway on its own. She had high cheek bones but her cheeks weren't sunken in like the silvery man's were. In fact, her cheeks looked full. While she didn't wear the wide smile of her companion next to her, she held an aura of wisdom which was rather inviting. Her stature was also more slim, but a lot curvier. Harry wondered idly if one or either of them were Veelas and decided not to go near either them just in case. 

He wandered more until he heard a familiar drawl that he couldn't help but smile at. "Potter." Harry noticed James react too but Harry found Draco quickly, making a point of reacting so that James would know it was him being addressed. 

"Malfoy." He tried, he really tried, to sneer as he addressed the dragon in front of him, but he couldn't. The smile he was trying so hard not to let creep into his voice crept through. Draco appeared not to be able to keep up his façade any more than Harry could, letting a smile appear on his face. Simultaneously, they reached out their hands and grasped the other's. Draco and Harry had settled their differences and once it had become obvious that Albus and Scorpius were near inseparable, they became something like friends. Harry, in fact, considered Draco Malfoy a friend and it appeared that the Malfoy boy agreed with him. They embraced as old friends, pulling each other into a one armed hug, their hands still clasped. They then pulled away, still grinning. 

"So any idea what's going on here, Potter?"

"Not one clue, Malfoy." 

The two grinned at one another as if they were sharing a good joke, which in a way they were. Their animosity had been lost about the time that Harry had vouched for Draco in the courts not long after the Battle of Hogwarts. The two of them had been civil for a long time. But they still continued to address each other by their last names, reminiscent of their school days when they were enemies. Neither really minded it much. As a matter of fact, it was good to still have one thing of that past that hadn't changed. Their relationship may have, but that would never. 

"Since when are you and Malfoy friends?" A familiar voice broke their shared grin as Harry turned. 

"Fred!" Harry had sworn he had seen Fred before but the Weasley had disappeared. Now, however, he reappeared and Harry could't have been more pleased to see him. He let go of Malfoy's hand and wrapped Fred in a rib crushing hug but before he could let go he was suddenly sandwiched. 

"Freddie!"

"Georgie!"

"Harry!"

"Harry!"

"George!"

Harry wasn't even sure who's voices were who's anymore. He eventually wiggled his way out from between the Weasley twins who were still locked in a tight embrace. It had been hard on George to lose his twin brother. They had been two halves to a whole. And now they were back together. Harry felt his throat tighten as he watched the Weasley's grip one another. Malfoy had moved on at some point. Harry felt like he should too so he slowly backed away from the twins. As he turned around he ran right into the two people he just happened to be thinking about. 

"Ron! Hermione!"

"Harry!" They practically shouted in unison. 

And the Golden Trio embraced. 

When they finally let go, Ron looked at Harry quizzically. "Any idea what's going on Harry?" 

Harry shook his head. "No. Hermione?" 

Her bushy, brown hair bounced as her head shook. "I honestly don't know."

Harry and Ron's jaws dropped in unison. "Hermione doesn't know something?" Harry asked. "Are you feeling ok?" Ron asked. "Maybe we need to get her to the library. When was the last time you were around a book?" Hermione was grinning at their antics but they didn't stop. 

"Don't you still carry that beaded bag with you? Don't you have your mobile library?" Ron.

"Yeah. Or maybe we need to get you around more books. You know how the library is your version of the hospital wing." Harry.

Hermione pushed them both playfully and the two boys couldn't help but smile. 

"Come on." Harry said suddenly. "There's a couple people I want you to meet." Harry pulled Ron and Hermione behind him as he pushed his way toward James and Lily. He had no idea where everyone else had come from. Apparently no one had made as dramatic of an entrance as he had. He pulled to a stop in front of his parents. "Mom, Dad. These are my best friends. Ron and Hermione." He looked back and forth between the two sets of people. Ron and Hermione seemed to be in sync with moving their heads back and forth looking at James and Harry. 

"That's going to take some getting used to." Ron muttered as he turned to shake hands with Harry's parents. 

"That's what I said!" Sirius voice echoed from somewhere. 

"Sirius." Harry clarified for his friends. They nodded as James and Lily smiled at them. 

"Harry," Hermione's voice was suddenly wary. "Have you seen Rose or Hugo?" Harry shook his head. Hermione looked like she might vomit. "Come on, Ronald." She pulled him away as they went to look for their children. 

"Rose and Hugo are their children." Harry muttered to his parents. "And two of my three godchildren. The other is Teddy." 

James had opened his mouth to answer when suddenly a familiar head of hair caught Harry's attention. He bolted forward, pushing through people until he came to an abrupt halt. "James?" 

The boy looked at the other who just addressed him, instantly recognizing the bright green eyes. "Dad!" James launched himself into his father's arms. Albus was not long behind him and Lily not long after him. All three of Harry's children were wrapped in his embrace. James and Albus looked as they had when they were eleven and Lily looked exactly the same, considering she herself was eleven. He pulled back to look at the three of them, making sure they weren't harmed. They all appeared ok. "Dad," James began. "There was this man. He came into this house and cast this symbol. A triangle with an eye in the center and then there was this bright green light and then were were here. Mom was in another room, we three were in living room. I don't know what happened to Mom." James always had a way of reading Harry's mind, one thing that he and his oldest son enjoyed. 

"Ok." Harry answered. "We'll figure this out. Come on. Do you want to meet your grandparents?" His children nodded eagerly. Harry moved for another family reunion, grabbing Sirius as he went. "I have three very special people you should meet." Harry said, addressing his parents and godparent. Harry turned first to James. "This is James Sirius. James, these are your grandparents, James and Lily and my godfather, Sirius." James, Harry's son, looked like he might explode. 

"Oh my god. Oh my god! OH. MY. GOD!" James hugged his grandparents and Sirius while nearly looking like he was going to jump out of his skin. 

Before he introduced his youngest son, he looked at Sirius and James pointedly, staring them down. "Now you both," His voice was a lot firmer than either of them were used to, "Be..have." He stretched one word into two. Of course Harry's children were used to this tone, they had heard it many times. "This," Harry said, turning toward his youngest son, "Is Albus Severus." It was Lily who beamed the widest and James and Sirius looked like they might have a heart attack. 

"Albus...Severus." Sirius answered. 

"Yes." Harry's voice was clipped as he fixed his godfather. 

Sirius pulled the boy toward him, wrapping him in a bone crushing hug. "Giving him a chance to redeem the name. Good for you Harry." Harry couldn't help it, he laughed. 

Harry had his arm wrapped around Lily. Much like a mother-son relationship, there was something about a father-daughter relationship. There was just some understood connection between the two. Lily had always been closer with her father and while Harry tried not to play favorites, it was really hard not to dote on Lily when James and Albus were both away at Hogwarts. 

When the three were done with Albus, Harry moved behind Lily, beaming. "And last but not least. This is Lily Luna." He knew that of all his children, Lily was the shyest. James was the most boisterous. Lily took a hesitant step forward only to be pulled in by her namesake. "Hello Lily. I'm Lily too." Harry heard his daughter giggle. 

Then a dreamy voice filled his ear and Harry's grin stretched so wide he thought his face might break. "Your daughter's middle name is Luna?" Harry turned to his left where the voice came from and saw exactly what he thought and eleven year old Luna Lovegood would look like. 

"After you, Luna." Harry answered before he grabbed her. "You are my friend of course." 

"That's nice." Luna sighed against his chest. She was much smaller than him, as always, but he was nonetheless happy to hold Luna in his arms.

"I missed you Luna Lovegood." 

"I missed you too Harry Potter." 

"Have you seen Ginny?" Harry asked when they finally pulled away. Luna shook her head before she floated away. 

"Ginny?" Harry's mother asked. 

Harry was scanning the ever growing crowd. "My wife." 

He could see out of the corner of his eyes, James and Sirius exchange a look but he didn't really care. He was looking for Ginny. Once or twice he thought he saw her red hair flash, but it wasn't her. He did however, see long, platinum blonde hair would could only mean Lucius Malfoy. Harry let out an almost feral sounding growl at the sight of him. 

"What?" His three children yelped. They hadn't ever heard Harry react like that. As a matter of fact, no one had. His parents, of which he mentally found himself referring Sirius to as, looked at him suspiciously as well. 

"Lucius Malfoy." 

"I know." Draco's familiar drawl came from next to him. "My father and I haven't been on the best of terms. Mind if I stay over here?" Harry looked over at Draco, who's pale face had gone even whiter. 

"Of course. You can stay." 

"Scorpius!"

"Albus!"

"It's reunions galore." Draco laughed next to Harry.

Remus eventually joined them, standing next to Sirius. Teddy joined Harry's children and Scorpius, the five of them chatting away. Eventually they were joined by Ron and Hermione and their two children. Rose and Hugo joined the already forming group of the next generation. Fred and George made their way over too. Their small group was growing in size. Luna too came. "I think this is the largest gathering of people." Harry's father commented. 

"Ok." Harry said after a moment. "We need to get some things straight here. There are way too many people with the same or similar names." He looked around the group. "So let's set some things right here and now. You three," He pointed to the Marauders. "We'll use your names from when you were in school here to address you because I will be saying James a lot and there is no telling which James I'm talking to, or anyone for that matter. So Prongs, Padfoot, and Moony. When it's obvious I'll just called you Dad or Sirius or Remus." Harry was about to say more when Fred and George interrupted him. 

"Wait. The Moony, Padfoot, and Prongs? As in the inventors the of Marauder's Map?" The twins spoke in unison.

"Yes." The Marauders answered, also in unison. 

"Blimey Harry!" Fred exclaimed. 

"You didn't tell use that your parents," George started.

"Yes Sirius and Remus do count as your parents," Fred added.

"Were the inventors of the Map." George finished. 

"Must have slipped my mind." Harry answered. 

The twins glowered at him but Harry ignored them. 

"When I say Malfoy, I will be addressing Draco, not you Scorpius." Scorpius nodded. 

"What about Lily?" James, Harry's father asked. "There are two of them." 

"Well we called you Prongs, Prongs," Sirius started, "We could come up with a similar name for her." He motioned to the Lily standing next to James. Everyone was silent for a moment before Sirius suggested, half joking, "Prongsette." James smacked his best friend. 

"Prose." Harry answered. Lily looked at him.

"Why Prose?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. It just seems to work with Prongs." 

Lily looked at her son for a moment more before nodding. "I like it." 

Dumbledore eventually made his way over, looking at the group. "Have some of you heard of a funhouse?" Harry and a couple others nodded, including Harry's children. "To say that this is like looking in a funhouse mirror is an understatement." Then his piercing blue eyes zeroed in on Albus. "Ah. You must be Albus." Albus nodded, his voice not seeming to work. "As am I. Am I correct in assuming, Harry, that you named your son after me?"

Harry nodded. "That assumption would be correct, Professor Dumbledore." 

Harry was about to say more when a sharp, "Mr. Potter!" Rang through the hall. Everyone who could be addressed by that name whipped around to see Minerva McGonagall. "Meaning Harry." She clarified after a moment. Harry couldn't help it. He ran. He ran toward the professor he used the Cruciatus Curse to protect. He ran toward the professor who offered him a biscuit because he insulted and stood up to Umbridge. He ran to the professor who didn't expel him for taking a flying car to school. He ran toward the professor who told him it was good to see him after he had missed a year of schooling. McGonagall embraced him in the only hug Harry was sure she had ever given a student. The hall fell silent again as he was sure many people had never seen Minerva McGonagall show so much emotion. But she did for Harry Potter. 

Harry released her and grinned, finding McGonagall grinning down at him. "It's good to see you." 

"It's good to see you too, Professor."

" 'Arry!" Another booming voice echoed across the hall and Harry turned right into Rubeus Hagrid. Harry and the half giant embraced as best as Harry could, considering he was in an eleven year old's body and had tiny arms. When Harry pulled away, it was Hagrid who noticed that Harry still had all his scars from the war. "Still got that writin' on your hand, I see." Harry frowned as he looked down to see  _I must not tell lies_ written in his script across his right hand. 

"If I have them, I must have the rest." Harry muttered. Hagrid said something about the staff table appearing and about how he should go sit to be out of the way. Harry nodded as he was lost in thought. 

Harry moved back toward his group. "We need to figure out what happened." He murmured to them before he moved to the front. Dumbledore was sitting in the headmaster's chair. Harry had no idea where the current headmaster was, or even if everyone here was alive. But he hoped they were, because otherwise his children were dead. And Harry was not going to stand for that. "Professor. We need to figure out what everyone saw. Why they are all here." Dumbledore nodded. 

"I agree Harry." He waved his hands and tables began to form, the typical tables of the four houses. People moved to take seats, groups staying together. Typical staff moved up toward the staff table. Snape, McGonagall, Dumbledore, Hagrid, Flitwick, Sprout. All professors he recognized. Amongst the people at the tables, he also spotted Neville Longbottom. Tonks didn't seem to show up either, which Harry thought was rather odd. 

"Do you mind?" Dumbledore shook his head. Harry turned to address the crowd, which was still chatting away. Harry cleared his throat, only some of the people up front stopped talking. "Silence!" Harry shouted. A few more people stopped talking. "QUIET!" Harry's voice boomed with more power than it had before. Harry wasn't quite sure when it had become night outside, but he only noticed now when a bright flash of lightening and a loud clap of thunder accompanied his voice. Harry opened his mouth to speak again when a slow clapping interrupted him. 

"Oh, I'm sorry. Were you saying something?" 

A boy entered, no older than sixteen. His eyes were obsidian and his hair was black and curly and held perfectly in place. He was tall and lithe. His cheekbones were sharp and high and his skin was porcelain. He dropped his hands and folded them behind his back. He wore a pair of black slacks and a white shirt which was perfectly fitted to his lean muscle chest. He stared at Harry and Harry stared back at him. His pale lips curved into a wicked smile. "What's the matter, Harry? No warm welcome for an old friend?" 

Harry stared for a moment more, his body tense and ready to strike. The crowd looked back and forth between the newcomer and Harry. Some recognized him, some didn't. Suddenly Harry felt himself changing, his body was growing taller and his features changing. He knew, without even looking, that he too was in the body of his sixteen year old self. For whatever reason, he decided not the let the other have the upper hand. He saw the other smirk at his change. "My, my. How much power you have." The other began to slink forward. His voice was like velvet. "You do remember me, don't you Harry?" The other purred. 

Harry felt his open lips curving into a smirk. "Hello, Tom." 

Thunder clapped behind him and lightning flashed. Harry's magic was beyond his control currently. The enchanted sky above them was alight with flashed of lightning, the fire in the candles and lanterns flickered, outside a storm brewed. But Harry and Tom just stared at each other calmly. 

"Temper, temper." Tom voice was barely above a whisper but it carried to Harry's ears. Tom was halfway across the Great Hall. He continued to move forward, coming closer to Harry. The lights began to dim and the air crackled. Tom walked until the was level with Harry, the two of them directly in front of the staff table. Harry could feel as Tom's aura of darkness clashed with Harry's lightning. "Well hello there, God of Thunder." Tom whispered. 

"Riddle." Harry growled. 

"Oh how I've missed you, Harry Potter." Tom's voice was quiet and with the storm and magic raging around them, there was no way anyone else, even Dumbledore who was directly behind them could hear them. "This is going to be so much fun." He leaned closer to Harry. Around them, he noticed that Tom's aura clouded it. He couldn't see anyone else and he was certain that no one could see them. "I'm sure this time around, things are going to be different, Harry Potter." Tom's lips were inches from his own and Harry couldn't help but feel the flutter of his childhood crush on Tom Riddle. Damn his own bisexuality to hell. The devil himself stood before him in the form of sixteen year old Tom Riddle and Harry would have gladly given into him if Tom hadn't pulled away. Tom backed up and both of their aura's ceased. He turned on his heal and walked toward the back of the room, leaning against the wall. Harry glowered at him. Tom leaned against the wall, a smirk present on his angelic face. 

"So, tell us, our fearless leader, what exactly is going on? Because we obviously aren't dead are we?" Tom paused, a mischievous glint flashing through his eyes. "Why you all ask?" When no one spoke, not even Harry. "Good question. Because Harry here is proof. Tell us, Harry Potter." Harry's name rolled off Tom's tongue in such a seductive drawl, many people shivered and even Harry himself suppressed a shiver. "Just how many Killing Curses have you survived up to this point?" 

Harry wanted nothing more than to strike Tom Riddle down right then and there. 

 


	3. The New Sorting

Newt Scamander knew of Harry Potter. Everyone knew of Harry Potter. Of course Newt was still alive during the Second Wizarding War which could be a huge contributing factor to knowing him. He had also been in and out of the castle in the time that Harry had gone to school in Hogwarts. Harry would have seen him too, if he had paid more attention on that ingenious map of his. But alas, Harry Potter was one of the most oblivious people Newt had ever heard of or seen. And that was saying something because Newt had met himself. Harry was extraordinary despite being as oblivious as he was. Newt could see that even now, as he leveled the boy who had grown up to be Lord Voldemort. Newt could see the raw power and passion that was Harry James Potter, the Chosen One. Newt had never actually met Harry though. Oh he had seen him in person, they had crossed paths and Harry didn't even know it. But alas, once again Harry was obvious. A brilliant fool. 

He could see, for a moment, as Harry Potter and Tom Riddle stood toe to toe until Riddle's aura blocked them both from view, wrapping them in a brilliant, dark cocoon. It didn't take too long being in the same room as Harry to understand why people worshipped the ground he walked on. Never had Newt seen someone with such pure love. It was the purest. People flocked to him. Even before when people just stood around, chatting with one another, Harry's group had been the largest and people who didn't even really know the Potter boy seemed to gravitate toward him. But now, the largest source of hatred that Newt had ever felt just strode up to Harry and wrapped him in a dark blanket. In a way it made sense, why Harry and Tom would be so opposite. Harry felt like love. He was so easy to love. Anyone could see that. And Tom. Tom was pure hatred wrapped in an angel's face. He was Lucifer incarnate. Even God had thought Lucifer beautiful before he Fell and Tom Marvolo Riddle was certainly beautiful. There was no denying that. 

Newt noticed that the moment that Tom entered the room, his eyes were focused entirely on Harry and vice versa. It was some kind of magnetic attraction that seemed to emanate from the two. There would never be another person in the world that either of them noticed so long as the other was in the room. It was almost poetic. It would have been romantic had they not been pitted against one another since before Harry was even born. Oh yes, Newt knew about the prophesy too. He also knew how smart Tom Riddle, AKA Lord Voldemort, really was. So why he actually put store in the prophesy baffled him. While in China, Newt heard a saying by a wise man named Confucius. "One often meets their destiny on the road they take to avoid it." This had been proven time and time again throughout history. Maybe if the Dark Lord had just read Greek Mythology he would have learned something. 

The amount power Tom had made Gellert Grindelwald seem as if he were merely a child. Newt would know, he had faced Grindelwald and captured him on one occasion. Every now and then he thought back to that time in New York. He had wanted to desperately to save Credence. "Not everyone can be saved." Dumbledore had told him. But Newt wanted to save at least someone. "You did save the entire city of New York." The older man reminded him. 

"But Credence didn't deserve that." Newt had muttered bitterly. Dumbledore just smiled at him with sad, knowing eyes. What had Dumbledore seen to make him understand perfectly what Newt was going through, because Newt could tell that Dumbledore understood. 

Newt brought himself back to the present where it seemed a devil and a god dueled. 

* * *

Gellert knew that Dumbledore had always favored the Potter boy. During the summers when Harry had first arrived at Hogwarts, Dumbledore would tell Gellert all about the kind boy with the bright green eyes. Gellert never understood until he saw Harry Potter that day. And then he knew. He understood. Dumbledore was right. Dumbledore was right about a great many things, Gellert was afraid. Though he figured that not even the great Albus I-Have-Too-Many-Middle-Names Dumbledore could figure this puzzle out. 

What exactly had brought them all back here? At first Gellert thought that the symbol was the symbol of the Deathly Hallows, but it wasn't. That was very distinctly an eye in the center of that triangle. And symbol flashed like a rainbow. Grindelwald had been alive for many years and studied many things but never had he seen or heard of anything that could do that. When he had arrived in Hogwarts, this being the first time he had ever stepped foot on the castle grounds, and he found Dumbledore, he realized that he and the other man were the same age. At first the people who had shown up were all children. But there were random people who were older. As if whatever it was that caused the whole mess realized that there needed to be "adults" even though technically many, if not most, of these people were adults. 

Gellert and Albus had talked until Albus had gone to Harry's ever expanding group to see about the child named after him. He could tell by the way that Dumbledore addressed the Potter boy that he loved Harry as if he were his own blood, as if the Chosen One were his grandson. 

Of course there was one thing that Dumbledore left out, which Gellert could see when Harry moved. There was something clear about the boy. Harry was not one to be tried. He had a temper a mile wide and the wit to accompany it. 

* * *

Harry wanted to smite Tom. Oh how he wanted to smite the silver tongued snake. If daggers could be shot from his eyes, he was fairly certain they would be shot. Tom just smirked back, daring him not to answer the question. Harry bit his tongue so hard he tasted blood. Tom Riddle made him see red. If it weren't for the fact that he had already reigned back in his magic, he was sure there would have been another lightning strike at that comment. Tom knew it too. He would do anything to make the Boy Who Lived lose his temper. To tear him down bit by bit. To show exactly how alike Tom Riddle and Harry Potter really were. 

"Well?" Tom asked with his velvety voice again.

"Are we counting the one's that you hit me with or not, Voldemort?" Harry cocked his head as he asked the question, ever so sweetly. Tom's eyes narrowed. Harry could tell that he was counting on the fact that people did not know that Tom Riddle and Voldemort were the same person. Harry was making damn sure that he unraveled all of Tom's plans, something he had a knack for. 

"Let's exclude the ones that I did." Tom's voice was less smooth this time, it held a chill to it which could have frozen anyone else, if the person it was directed at wasn't Harry Potter. 

"If we exclude the ones that you did, and failed to spectacularly," Harry taunted, "Seven. Nine in total."

Had Harry been looking around, he would have seen people's eyes widen in fear. If he had been looking behind him, he would have seen Albus Dumbledore lean forward inquisitively. If he looked toward his family, he would have seen his father look as though the lightning before had struck him. He would have seen his mother look as though she might vomit. He would have seen the smile disappear from Sirius's face. He would have seen Remus look as though he were a deer in the headlights. He would have seen his best friends exchange worried glances. He would have seen the two Veela like women lean forward in interest. He would have seen the silvery man's head turn toward him and evaluate him like he were a science experiment. He would have seen the man with the lion on his chest look at him as if he were a snack. He would have seen Newt Scamander raise a few inches off his seat to see if Harry Potter was real. He would have seen Gellert Grindelwald, who was standing off to the right of the staff table and Harry Potter raise his eyebrows and look at Dumbledore, who was looking very pointedly back at him. He would have seen any of these. 

But instead he was looking at Tom Riddle. He saw the red flash across the onyx eyes. He saw the hungry look like Harry was the drink of water he was searching for to quench his thirst. He saw the smug look on his dark counterpart's face. The demon of darkness and the god of thunder saw each other, and only each other. 

"So," Tom started again. Everyone's attention was turned away from Harry back toward the young version of Lord Voldemort. People were shifting away from him as they realized who he was. 

Before Tom could speak more however, Harry had actually noticed how people were shifting away from Tom and he interrupted the devil across the room. "Oh don't mind him." Harry said to the people shifting away from Riddle. "He's as harmless as a declawed kitten with no teeth." 

Tom looked as if he wanted to murder Harry then. His face became a hard mask but his eyes were alight was an angry fire. This time the flash of red stayed and one girl let out a yelp of fear. Tom smirked at that. "As harmless as a declawed kitten with no teeth he says." Tom's voice was a murmur, but it carried. It caressed Harry's face like a tender touch and Harry wanted to rip Tom apart. "Really?" Tom's voice had a playful edge, as if he were daring Harry to test him. 

"Really." Harry answered evenly. 

Before anyone in the crowd could react, Tom's wand was out and a flash of green shot toward the person closet to him, but it never made it. It hit a vibrant white shield and disappeared. Harry watched as Tom's jaw dropped in what must have been shock. Harry idly wondered if Tom had ever been shocked before in his life and Harry was rather proud to be the cause of that. 

Tom's eyes were glued to Harry once again. "How did you do that?" He growled. 

Harry snorted in response. "You think I'm honestly going to tell you Voldy?" Harry didn't know why he felt like taunting Voldemort. He was honestly the most powerful wizard who had ever exist, but now it seemed that he and Harry Potter were evenly matched. 

Since Voldemort had killed the horcrux inside him, Harry's power had flourished. It almost seemed as if the horcrux had limited Harry's power, which made perfect sense. Since it was a piece of Voldemort's soul, the last thing it would want is something just as strong as Voldemort out there. 

Tom snarled at Harry and Harry grinned. It was a sick, sadistic grin which belonged on the face of Tom Riddle himself, but Harry couldn't help the triumph which was inside his own body. Tom couldn't harm him, not now that they both had their old wands back. Tom and Harry were evenly matched, for the first time ever. The Dark Lord and the Chosen One. Lord Voldemort and the Boy Who Lived. 

"Now," Harry said, his tone still even, "Since you seem so keen on leading this conversation, why don't you be the first to answer my question. In, wherever you were, which I can only assume was Hell" Harry shot Tom a smirk which Tom quickly reciprocated, "Did you happen to see a multicolored triangle with an eye and then be hit with a green light?" 

Tom nodded. "And I heard the words 'Ad finem.'" 

Harry found himself cocking his head. "Ad finem?" He repeated. 

Tom nodded again. "Yes. It means 'to the end'. It's Latin." He looked rather smug to be lecturing Harry on something when Harry had just one-uped him magically. 

"Did the rest of you see that as well?" Harry addressed the rest of them who all seemed to give some form of agreement except for one of them. Harry found his eyes drawn to the lion chested man who was shaking his head. 

"No?" Harry asked him. 

"No. But that could be because I was already on the grounds of Hogwarts." The man's voice incredibly deep and smooth. It made Kingsley's voice seem high by comparison. It sounded like liquid chocolate. "I just noticed someone fall from the ceiling through the window and decided to come see what was going on. It's not every day that someone falls through that." He gestured his hand upward. 

Harry scratched his head awkwardly. "Yeah leave it to me to make an entrance as dramatic as possible." A bark of laughter echoed from the left side of the room which Harry assumed was Sirius. 

"You survived that fall?" The man asked, though he didn't sound as though he was really asking. 

"Yes. I can't die. By any means. Magical or otherwise." Harry let out a sigh before taking off his glasses for a moment and rubbing his eyes. He then replaced the rounded spectacles and addressed the man across the room again. His attention was really on Tom, he couldn't not pay attention to him, but he didn't want to make it look like he was only paying attention to the man who had tried to kill him on several occasions. "I've been stabbed, shot, hit with the Killing Curse and several other deadly spells, splinched. I've bled out entirely and yet I've lived." Harry shook his head. "I've broken bones and they've healed on their own within seconds. I would have healed quickly when I bled out but I was curious to see what would happen." He admitted rather guiltily. "Yet I still didn't die. I can't die. I thought maybe whatever that curse was that did it, but if you weren't hit with it and you're here, then this all must be real." 

Harry groaned internally as he said the last statement. If it all was real, then that meant that Lord Pain in his Ass was real. That wasn't something Harry was looking forward to dealing with. 

"You're an auror, now, yes Mr. Potter?" Snape's voice came from behind him. Harry turned to address him, happy to have a reason to not look at Tom. 

"Yes."

"Yes, sir." Snape corrected. 

"How many times must I tell you that you don't have to call me sir, Professor?" The answer came out of Harry's mouth before Harry could stop it. It was quite obvious to Harry where the laughter in the room came from. Prongs and Padfoot were hooting with laughter and Harry was sure one of the two fell out of his seat because there was a thud on the floor. Fred and George were trying to stifle snickers, and Harry knew it was them because of how long he had spent around the Weasley twins. Ron's laughter was easy to distinguish, as was the laugh of his children. Harry's own children were sniggering too, though trying not to make it obvious, which they failed at miserably. The lion chested man's laugh was deep and booming and his silvery companion seemed unable to not grin. There were a couple of other giggles here and there, one of which belonged to Hermione and another to Luna. And then there was Tom's musical laughter. Harry wasn't expecting that laugh, but it enticed him, he couldn't help but hear that laugh. Still, as much as Harry wanted to turn away, he didn't. He stayed level with Snape, his face smooth and cool. 

Much to Harry's surprise, Snape smiled. "I would be lying if I said that I didn't miss that sass of yours Mr. Potter." The laughter from what would have been Gryffindor table ceased immediately and Snape got a satisfied smirk on his face at what must have been the very shocked face of the people who knew that Severus Snape loathed Harry James Potter. Harry, however, found himself smiling. 

"I know." He shrugged simply. "But where were you going with your line of questioning?" 

Snape eyed him for a second before continuing. "You have not come across that symbol or anything like it?"

Harry shook his head. He was lying slightly. The symbol looked like that of the Deathly Hallows, but he wasn't going to bring that up now. Anyone else who knew about it, Dumbledore included, didn't seem to be too inclined to bring it up either. 

Snape nodded his head and leaned back in hair chair lost in thought. Harry turned back to the crowd, his eyes ghosting over everyone. "No one has any ideas." Everyone, even to Harry's great disappointment Hermione and Tom, shook their heads. "Damnit." Harry muttered under his breath. Harry dropped his head, his hands rubbing his temples. 

 _"Language."_ Harry's head shot up again, this time staring directly at Tom who's eyes widened when Harry looked at him. 

"What?" Harry answered. 

 _"I said, language."_ Tom answered back, but everyone was looking at Tom with a horrified looked, as if he had sprouted two heads. It would be natural of course, considering who he was. But people had seemed to forget that Tom was there after Harry's comment at Snape. 

" _You speak Parseltongue?"_ Another voice came from the corner. The silvery man next to the lion chest man stepped up, eyeing Riddle warily. 

 _"Yes."_ Tom answer and Harry finally understood. They were speaking in Parseltongue. But Harry wasn't able to speak Parseltongue since Voldemort had destroyed the horcrux in him when he was seventeen. Why was he suddenly understanding it now? 

It was clear to Harry that only Harry, Tom, and the silver headed man understood what was being said, as Harry looked around the room, everyone else looked horrified and confused. 

"Mr. Riddle, Mr. Slytherin," Dumbledore's voice came from behind Harry and Harry started. Did he just say Slytherin? As in Salazar Slytherin? As in Riddle's ancestor? As in the creator of Slytherin House? As in the most famous parselmouth ever? "I think we all would appreciate it if you would speak in English. Though I know it would be nice for you two to be able to communicate in secret, perhaps you could leave the family reunion for later?"

Salazar turned and eyed Dumbledore. "Family reunion?" 

Harry positioned himself so that he could see both parties at the same time. "Oh yes." Dumbledore said, nodding. "Mr. Riddle there is your living heir." Tom looked just as shaken as Harry felt. Salazar eyed Dumbledore warily before giving a curt nod. He stepped back next to the man next to him and suddenly it dawned on him. If the silver haired man was Salazar Slytherin then...

"You're Godric Gryffindor." Harry addressed the lion chested man. The man beamed at him. "Indeed I am. At your service." He inclined his head slightly, never taking his eyes off of Harry. "Those two," He continued, waving his hand toward the two women who stood near to them, but not exactly in the corner like they were, "Are Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw." 

Harry swallowed thickly. He wasn't exactly sure how to react. He felt like he should bow and he also felt a bit of shame. He and Tom both were partially responsible for the destruction of three of the four founders objects. The two women inclined their head toward Harry and Harry reacted automatically, mimicking them. He was too dumbstruck to speak. 

Fortunately for him, Godric seemed to want to continue talking. "I keep telling Helga that she doesn't look like a Helga. When I think of a Helga I think of the female version of me. What do you think Harry? Do you think Helga fits our lovely Miss Hufflepuff here?" 

Harry looked back and forth between Godric, who seemed mildly amused, and Helga, who looked like she wanted to take off her shoe and start beating Godric with it. He swallowed again. "I don't know." He was surprised yet again at how even his voice was. "If she likes her name it's up to her to keep it." Helga puffed herself up slightly.

"See?!" She exclaimed look at Godric. "He agrees with me. I like my name." 

Godric rolled his eyes. "Oh come off it Goddy." Harry nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of Salazar Slytherin's voice in English. It was like cool water. It sounded amazing. "You're never going to win that war."  _Did he just called Godric Gryffindor, Goddy?_ Harry thought to himself.

"I will win, Sally!" Godric exclaimed. "I always win." 

_Sally???_

Harry tried very hard not to gawk at the four founders but it turned out he wasn't the only one. It seemed everyone had some type of reaction to the four bickering people whether it be gaping like fish or looking mildly horrified at names likes Goddy and Sally. 

"Oh yes." Came another voice. Rowena Ravenclaw's voice resembled that of Minerva McGonagall. It was sharp and quick but it held a little softer note to it. "You're idea of a battle strategy to win is charging head first into a battle like a bull." 

Godric shrugged. "Well it works doesn't it?" 

"Just about as well as throwing yourself in front of someone else works in stopping them from getting hurt. You're bound to land on that person when you fall." Salazar quipped. 

"At least they don't take the brunt of it." Godric answered. There was a playful light in his eyes that only seemed to come about when he was addressing Salazar and Harry couldn't help but wonder what exactly that was about. 

Harry swallowed the fear that was rising in his chest at what he was about to do. The very last thing that he wanted to do was interrupt four of the most powerful wizards to ever exist, but they were going to get now where if the founders kept up their banter. 

"Sorry to interrupt you," Harry started and the four of them turned to look at him, "As entertaining as your conversation is we're getting a bit off topic here." 

To his surprise Godric answered him with a rather large grin. "I like you. You've got guts kid. You must have been in Gryffindor."

It was the weirdest thing Harry ever experienced to hear someone with the last name of the house he was in to say that. However, before Harry could answer, Salazar spoke up. 

"No way. He was definitely in Slytherin. He's got the wit for it. The cunning. I can see it." 

Harry cleared his throat as the two of them were about to start bickering again. They looked back to Harry. "The Hat did want to put me in Slytherin yes," There was sharp inhale that swept across the hall. The only other people who knew that the Hat considered putting him in Slytherin were ironically both named the same thing, Albus. "But I was in Gryffindor." 

Godric looked rather smug but Harry stopped whatever statement he was about to say. 

"But back on topic. Today was September 1st. The day that school was supposed to start. I know because I was hoping to make it back in time to see the train off." How much time had passed between when Harry had gotten hit with the curse and when he had woken up. It was night time now and Harry glanced at his watch. It was nearly midnight. "Stand up if you are supposed to be attending Hogwarts." Only a handful of people stood. He spun on his foot and looked at Dumbledore. "Where in the hell are all the other students?" His voice was low as he only wanted himself to be heard by those at the staff table. Dumbledore seemed at a loss for words. It was the first time Harry had ever seen his former Headmaster like this. "I'm assuming we were all sent to hear to act as students. If you notice, there are exactly the right number of people to fit the typical Hogwarts quota." The other professors looked around Harry at the people all sitting at the tables. 

"He's right, Albus." McGonagall said. "Whoever wanted us here seemed to want Hogwarts to continue like normal." 

"Which means," Harry said, as it suddenly dawned on him, "We all must have started arriving here at the same time that the train would normally arrive at Hogwarts. That's the reason why time seemed to move so fast to me." The professors looked at him oddly and he elaborated. "It was nine in the morning when I dueled the wizard who sent me here and then I suddenly noticed it was night. We all must have spent hours catching up with one another, which would make sense, a lot of us haven't seen one another for years. It's nearly midnight." As if on cue the clock suddenly started chiming which signaled midnight. "See?" At the same time, other professors started showing up in their rightful seats, including Horace Slughorn. Harry took one look at him and turned to Snape. "That must mean that you're supposed to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." Snape nodded as he took in the sight of Horace Slughorn with slight contempt. "If we're all meant to go to school here, what exactly are we going to do about everyone? Are we just going to have them go to the Houses they were in before?" 

Once again as if on cue a stool appeared behind Harry with the Hat sitting right to top and a rather large wrapped tightly on it. "Well I guess that answers that question." Harry muttered as he turned around upon hearing several gasps. "Who's the Heads of Houses then? I mean we have the actual creators of the Houses here and then there's you all." Harry gestured to the professors in front of them. At some point during Harry's talk, the founders moved up to hear what he was talking about and were right next to him as he spoke his last line.

"Them. Whoever were the Heads before." Godric answered in a low voice. "Whatever reason we're here for, we'll find out, but for now we'll stay out of the way. There must be some reason that they sent all of you back here right? Clearly it was for schooling? So what do they want you to learn?"

Harry shook his head, rubbing his forehead. "And there's an even bigger problem. Most people here are highly advanced in magic. Already passed Hogwarts but stuck in the bodies of eleven year olds. I noticed," Harry found himself saying this next line without realizing where it was coming from, "That when I was shifting in my look that other people tried too, but they couldn't. Which if we were to go by standard curriculum, a lot of them would be learning things they already know."

"I think you would be surprised, Mr. Potter, at the things people could learn the second time around." Snape said, looking very pointedly at him. He knew what he meant of course. He probably could have done better in Potions. 

"So what are you saying? That we just throw everyone in the same level of class and tell them to suck it up if they know it?" Harry could hear the people behind him getting restless. "They're going to mutiny if we don't feed them." Harry said suddenly, thinking about how none of them had probably eaten in a while. As if to illustrate the point, Harry's own stomach made a rather loud noise of agreement. Dumbledore chuckled. 

"The curriculum can be dealt with later. It just so happens that this year September 1st fell on a Friday so classes won't begin until Monday." Godric started. "That can all be dealt with then. We should probably get the Sorting done, feed them, and then send people off to bed. Harry's right. People are going to mutiny if they aren't fed and it's going to get even worse if we keep them awake."

Before Harry or anyone else could answer, Snape's voice cut through the silence surrounding the staff table. "Mr. Potter, since when did you develop a brain?"

Harry shrugged. "I suppose I've always had one, I wouldn't have gotten as far as I did, even at Hogwarts without one. But I just started to apply it more. The Hat briefly mentioned Ravenclaw too you know. It debated every House but narrowed it down to Slytherin and Gryffindor. It wanted Slytherin, I didn't." 

Next to Harry, Godric looked slightly impressed. "Told the Hat what to do eh?" Harry nodded. "You must be a Gryffindor." He clapped Harry on the shoulder and Harry winced slightly at the strength that was Godric Gryffindor. 

"So let's get everyone Sorted and fed and off to bed." Helga giggled at Harry's unintentional rhyme. 

"Good then." Godric clapped his hands. "We'll each take a quarter of the list." He said, addressing the three founders next to him. "That list looks way too long for one person." They seemed to agree. 

"I got this." Harry murmured to them. Then he faced the crowd. They went silent again. The whole time he had felt Tom's eyes on him and it was even worse now that he was facing Tom again. "Alright, if you are CURRENTLY going to Hogwarts and have a house, go to that table, the rest of us will line up in the center for what is sure to be the longest Sorting ever." Once again Godric's laugh boomed, though this time it was right in his ear. People shuffled and it took quite a few minutes before people were situated. Harry looked around from where he stood. James was still at the Gryffindor table, looking rather lonely. There were only ten Hogwarts students. He was joined by Hugo. Rose was at the Ravenclaw table, Scorpius at the Slytherin table, Albus at the Hufflepuff table, and a couple others who Harry recognized at other tables. It took a couple of moments for Harry to find him but there was Teddy buried in the crowd, though he was sitting at the Hufflepuff table, directly across from Albus. "We should let my daughter go first." He muttered to the founders next to him. "She's supposed to start Hogwarts this year and is the only one from what I can tell that is actually supposed to be sorted today. And I want to be the one to Sort her." He could see them nodding, though he wasn't looking at them. 

"Lily." He called in a soft voice. His daughter pushed forward through the crowd. Harry beamed at her. "Lily since you are actually supposed to be Sorted today, you are going to go first. Now don't be afraid. Every person in here has been through it before." Lily nodded as both she and Harry approached the chair. He took the list off and handed it to Godric. "I don't know which of you is going first, but you're the closest." Godric gave a nod. Harry picked up the Hat off the stool and held out his hand so his daughter could jump up on it. He could see his sons lean forward in their seats, looking at their little sister, wondering where she would end up. Harry had to admit he was curious, but he really didn't care. She could end up in Slytherin and he wouldn't love her any less. Lily took her place and Harry sat the Hat on her head, backing away. They waited for three seconds, but that three seconds seemed to stretch on forever. 

"RAVENCLAW!" The Hat shouted and Harry beamed at his daughter as he moved forward to take the Hat off her head. She jumped off her chair, quickly hugged her father, then bounced toward the Ravenclaw table. Harry sat the Hat down and walked to join the crowd. 

Godric unrolled the scroll, looking down it. "It's official that there are too many Potters, Malfoys, and Weasleys at this school." The three groups addressed laughed. 

Then it started, as Harry predicted, the longest Sorting ever. Harry found his mind wandering to the fact that this was probably only the second or third Sorting he had ever seen. People seemed dead on their feet, but they still managed to make loud boisterous claps despite that fact. Harry noticed that the list was not being read in any particular order, but he saw when Godric tilted the list just slightly that the name which had already been read were marked off. That probably helped immensely. 

"James Potter!" Godric announced loudly. James pushed his way forward, winking at Harry as he did. He jumped on the seat and sat very straight as the Hat was placed on his head. The Hat just barely touched the mess of raven black hair when it screamed...

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Harry found himself clapping and hooting loudly. 

"Lily Potter!" Harry's mother sifted her way through the crowd and sat herself on the stool. The Hat actually allowed itself to be put on her head and Godric's hand to pull away before it screamed, "GRYFFINDOR!" 

More whoops and claps followed. Harry was certain he knew who's name would be next, but Godric surprised him. "Remus Lupin!" Harry found himself wondering what Godric was up to as Remus walked to the stool. 

"GRYFFINDOR!" 

More claps and hollers but Harry had to ask himself if anyone was really surprised by anything that turned out so far. With the exception of Lily Luna, everyone's house to this point had seemed pretty predictable. 

"Sirius Black!" 

"GRYFFINDOR!" 

Harry suddenly felt himself bubbling with excitement. He would be in the same house as his parents, assuming the Hat actually put him in Gryffindor again. 

"Newt Scamander!" 

Harry knew that name, but for some reason he couldn't place it at the moment. He saw the boy walk forward. He had curly dirty blonde hair which was pulled to the right side and shining blue eyes. Harry also noticed that Dumbledore gave the boy a large smile as he approached the stool.  _Interesting._ Harry thought to himself. 

Harry could still feel Tom's eyes on him, therefore he was doing everything in his power to try to distract himself from Tom Riddle. 

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Harry clapped, watching the boy. Why was that goddamn name so familiar? 

" _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them."_ A voice whispered in his ear. Harry turned to look at Hermione who was standing next to him. "He wrote it." Harry felt like smacking himself. "That's where I know that name."

"He's also my great grandfather." Luna said from a little further down. Harry felt himself smiling. 

"Neville Longbottom!"

The Hat barely touched his head before it screamed, "GRYFFINDOR!"

"Ronald Weasley!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Harry was certain the Hat would have just shouted that all the Weasleys should be in Gryffindor if it could have. 

"Fred Weasley!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"George Weasley!"

"GRYFFINDOR!" 

Even with as many people as had been Sorted already, the crowd was still significant. 

"Hermione Weasley!"

"GRYFFINDOR!" 

The Gryffindor table was filling up fast. 

"Luna Lovegood!" 

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Dean Thomas!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Dean was there?

"Seamus Finnegan!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Seamus too?

"Draco Malfoy!"

"SLYTEHRIN!"

"Lucius Malfoy!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Bellatrix Lestrange!"

Harry's blood ran cold and his heart stopped entirely. He watched the dark witch, who had an impressive aura even at eleven saunter up to the stool. He knew exactly where she was going to end up, but he also knew it was going to take every ounce of control to keep himself from hexing the living daylights out of her. The look he was sending her was so cold, the temperature was sure to have dropped ten degrees between him and Bellatrix. He could tell that Tom was looking at him smugly. He was just waiting to see Harry's reaction to his most vicious lieutenant. 

"SLYTEHRIN!"

"Narcissa Malfoy!"

"SLYTHERIN!" 

When Harry and Narcissa's eyes met, she gave him and almost imperceptible nod which he returned. 

"Vincent Crabbe!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Gregory Goyle!" 

"SLYTHERIN!" 

This was going to be hell. 

"Theodore Nott!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Cedric Diggory!"

Harry perked up at that name. He looked and he saw the eleven year old Cedric shift his way through the crowd. He jumped on the stool but then he was looking at Harry.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Cedric jumped down but rather than join his table, he walked to Harry and wrapped him in a hug. Harry returned the hug immediately and whispered in Cedric's ear, "I am so sorry." He felt Cedric shrug in the hug. "It wasn't your fault, Harry. Please stop blaming yourself." Harry nodded. "If you need forgiveness, I forgive you." Harry smiled against Cedric's shoulder and then the pair released their hug. "It's good to see you again, Harry." Cedric clapped Harry on the shoulder. 

"You too, Cedric." 

Harry was entirely unaware of everyone watching them. He was only aware of the cold looks that Tom was shooting toward Cedric Diggory, as though Cedric had touched Tom's most prized possession. 

The Sorting continued, the list passed from founder to founder. Salazar was the one who dealt with the Sorting last. Harry had a sneaky feeling all of the founders had purposely waited to Sort Harry Potter and Tom Riddle until the last out of sheer curiosity. Harry knew there was no way that Tom was going to end up in any house but Slytherin, he was the Heir of Slytherin for Merlin's sake. But Harry...where would Harry be this time? 

It was nearly two in the morning when they were down to the final two. 

"Tom Riddle!" Salazar called. 

 _You all did this on purpose._ Harry thought at them aggressively. Godric seemed to be on the receiving end of Harry's thought, because he beamed at Harry. Harry wasn't even sure that Hat touched Tom's head when it screamed with a fervor, "SLYTHERIN!"

Then it was finally Harry. His feet ached from having stood so long. 

"Harry Potter." Salazar's voice was a drawl that Harry was not used to, but he walked forward with his head held high anyway. He sat down on the stool and the hat fell on his head. 

 _Now you listen here you little shit,_ Harry vigorously thought at the hat before it could even begin.  _I said it before and I'll say it again. I will not be in Slytherin._

 _Why Mr. Potter, you_ _insult me. Yes you do have many many Slytherin traits, you're core is very much Gryffindor. Though I must say, you are one very interesting chimera._ The Hat crooned in his ear before screaming it's verdict. 

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"HA!" Godric boomed as Salazar took the Hat off Harry's head. Harry could see Salazar frowning but Harry didn't really care. He knew his life would have been a living hell if he had ended up in Slytherin. There were too many Death Eaters who would willingly cause him grief at every turn. At least in Gryffindor he would have reprieve when he wasn't out and about. 

"Seeing as it is very late," Came Dumbledore's voice, silencing everyone immediately, "Eat up quickly so we can all get to sleep." 

Harry was surprised at how well everyone was holding up. Maybe the excitement was kicking in the adrenaline. Harry sat so his back was to the far wall in-between the two James's. Tom sat on the opposite side of the hall with his back also to the wall so he could watch Harry.

"That is the weirdest sight I have ever seen." Fred said. 

"What?" The three Potter boys answered at the same time. 

"You all look almost identical." George answered. 

The three of them shrugged, moving back to their food. Desert had all three of them reaching for the treacle tart. Harry couldn't help but smile. 

After desert was over and the table cleared, Dumbledore stood again. "As always I remind you to stay out of the Forbidden Forest and I am looking specifically at one section of Gryffindor table over there." The Potters, Weasleys, Sirius, and Remus had all sat very close together and every single one of them, with the exception of James, raised their hands in unison in a non threatening, surrender sort of way and answered simultaneously, "Who us? We would never." Even Hermione and Lily had been part of the chorus of voices which broadened Harry's already wide grin. Dumbledore's eyes sparkled. 

"I'm sure you'll find," Dumbledore continued, addressing everyone again once the snickering had calmed down, "That you will have your possessions in certain areas of your dorms. Off you go. Harry if you could stay for a moment." The rest quickly got up and Harry noticed that Luna had wrapped her arm around Lily to guide her to the Ravenclaw common room. Harry grinned at his friend gratefully as he made his way toward the staff table. The teachers had all descended into order to follow the others and ensure a peaceful transition. Dumbledore alone waited for Harry to show up. It was only Harry, the founders, and Dumbledore who were left. 

"The founders all have their own sleeping quarters hidden within the castle." Dumbledore answered Harry's unasked question. Harry nodded. 

"Well goodnight then, Harry." Godric once again painfully clapped Harry on the shoulder. 

"Goodnight." Harry answered. Godric gave Harry a wide smile before he left, the other three on his heals. 

Once they were gone Dumbledore spoke again. "I don't want to keep you for too long as I'm sure you're tired." Harry nodded. "But I do have some questions for you. The first being whether or not you noticed the fact that Mr. Riddle seemed unable to keep his eyes off you." Harry swallowed, trying his best to keep his face from reddening. 

"Yes I had noticed that." 

Dumbledore nodded, stroking his silvery beard. 

"Then my second question is, do you see the problem we are facing here?"

Harry snorted. "If by problem you mean potential catastrophe, then yes. We have some of the toughest Death Eaters currently bunking with their overlord again." 

Once again Dumbledore nodded. "Yes that does present a problem. Though I doubt it will be as much as an issue with Gellert and I here." 

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Gellert? As in Gellert Grindelwald?" 

"Yes Harry. I'm not surprised you didn't recognize him as he was before your time, but he is here and trust me when I say, he won't be a threat. Much like myself, he learned from the mistakes of his youth." 

Harry was relieved to hear that there wouldn't be the issue of two Dark Lords. 

"My third question is then this, Harry. Since you seem so adamant with the curriculum, would like to help us design it? We'll be meeting tomorrow morning at eleven in my office." Harry looked at Dumbledore, back and forth between those piercing blue eyes of his. 

"Do you really think I'm the right person to help with that, Professor?" 

Dumbledore smiled at him. "I wouldn't have asked you if I thought otherwise." 

Harry nodded this time. "Then yes. I'll be there." 

"Very good then Harry. Off to bed then, before Peeves tries to get you." 

Harry laughed. "I had forgotten about that pest."

Harry turned to leave when Dumbledore said one more thing, "Oh Harry." Harry turned back, "Yes Professor?" Dumbledore had a mischievous glint in his eye the likes of which Harry had never seen there before. "Do tell me which one of you Potters ends up with the Invisibility Cloak, won't you?" Harry found himself smiling. "Of course Professor."

"Goodnight, Harry."

"Goodnight, Professor Dumbledore."

It felt so familiar, and incredibly right, to be back. 

It was like muscle memory as he made his way back to the Gryffindor common room. He even remembered to jump the step when it came. He walked up to the door, wondering how exactly he was going to get inside when the door swung open from the inside. 

His father greeted him at the door. "The password is ironically treacle tart. We won't forget that one." Harry beamed. "I was just coming to wait out here to get you when you were done." Harry and James walked through the portrait and into the common room. 

"This is going to be weird, isn't it?" James asked him. 

"Honestly, I'm too tired to know." Harry's answer was punctuated by a yawn. James smiled at him. 

"All of the doors are labeled with our names so we know which rooms are ours. You, Ron, Seamus, Dean, and Neville are up at the top." Harry laughed. 

"I roomed with those four when I was at Hogwarts the first time too." 

James laughed as well. "Well for me, the only difference in my rooming situation is the lack of Wormtail." 

"Thank God." Harry answered coldly. James picked up on the coldness and turned Harry toward him. 

"You shouldn't hold a grudge for too long you know."

Harry nodded. "I know, but I'm just glad he isn't here. Because I honestly don't know what I would do to him if he were." James opened his mouth to speak but Harry stopped him by raising his hand. "No. He sold you out, killed Cedric, cut my arm open for the blood that was used to raise Voldemort, stood by and watched while I was tortured even though he owed his life to me. No. I honestly don't know what I would do. I don't hate him. I feel nothing toward him. But that doesn't mean that that wouldn't change had he shown up here too." 

James shrugged. "Fair enough." 

Harry yawned again. "I should really get to sleep. It's been a long day." He rubbed the back of his head absently. James nodded and the two of them walked up the steps toward the top most dorms. At the second from the top James stopped. "Well this is where I get off." Harry looked at the door where the names James, Sirius, and Remus were written. Harry couldn't help but smile. "I'll be right here if you need me." Harry nodded and pulled James into a hug. "Goodnight Dad." James squeezed him. "Goodnight Son." 

Harry waited until James shut the door before he turned to go upstairs, but he was stopped by another voice. "Harry?" Harry descended the stairs to find his mother at the bottom. "Mom." She smiled. "I just wanted to say goodnight to you." She was dressed in a pair of comfortable looking sweatpants and a t-shirt which Harry for some reason thought was strange. He pulled his mother into a hug. "Why aren't you and Dad sleeping together?" He asked against her hair. She laughed. "Oh we would, but we figured it would probably be better that we obey school policy, even if it is just for one night." Harry laughed against his mother's hair. She pulled away and stroked his face. "Goodnight Harry." He smiled at her. "Goodnight Mom." He watched her go back toward the girl's dorm, and waited until she was out of view before he ascended the stairs again. James, his son, met him on the stairs.

Harry wondered how many more people would want a hug before he could finally make it to bed. Not that he minded, it's just that they seemed to be multiplying. "Goodnight Dad." James said as he pulled Harry in for a hug. Harry wrapped James in his arms and kissed his head. "Goodnight James." James slid into his room and Harry trotted up the stairs to the one he shared with Ron, Neville, Seamus, and Dean. It had to be close to three at this point. 

The others were fast asleep and Harry pulled his wand out of his pocket.  _Lumos._ He thought. His wand tip lit up and he dug through his trunk. At the bottom folded neatly was the Invisibility Cloak. Harry had to cover his mouth with his hand in order not to laugh. Right next to it was the Marauder's Map.  _Things never change._ He thought to himself. He pulled on his pajamas and set his glasses on the table next to his bed, closing the curtains around his four poster.  __

 _Tomorrow is going to be a very long day._ And with that thought, Harry closed his eyes and fell asleep. 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if Lily and Hugo are the same age or if one is older than the other, so I just made Hugo older.


	4. Welcome to the Black Parade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know exactly what I did with the chapter title.
> 
> Also I'm adding some of the things from the movie into the book canon too. Just because there are some things that I feel like would have worked so well in the book but there weren't in there. 
> 
> Another thing is that while there are random POVs from other people, most of the story is told by Harry and he is utterly oblivious.

"What do you want us to do about Harry Potter, my Lord?" 

"Nothing."

"Nothing, my Lord?"

"You heard me correctly, Lucius. Or do you need your ears checked for clogs?"

"No, my Lord."

"That's what I thought. No one will touch Harry Potter. Not one hair on his head. Am I understood?"

"Yes my Lord." Voices chorused. 

"You all are dismissed."

Draco ran back up the stairs before the others could find him lurking. He had cast a Silencing Charm around himself so he could listen without being heard. He quickly closed the door behind him and turned to look at Crabbe and Goyle who had been waiting for him. Draco's heart was in his throat and he pressed a finger to his lips to warn them to be quiet as he listened to footsteps echo on the steps outside their door. The two of them nodded. The three of them waited with baited breathe until the last footsteps left the hall. Still, Draco cast a Silencing Charm around the room. He moved closer to his school companions. 

Neither Crabbe nor Goyle had lived long enough to see the relationship blossom between Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, but something in death had changed them. It had been Crabbe and Goyle who first approached Draco, asking him if they could be friends again, knowing he was also friends with Harry and that they wouldn't do anything to come between that relationship. If Harry would have them, they would like to become friends with Harry as well. The three of them had fled when Voldemort called a meeting of the Death Eaters. Draco was smart enough to put a numbing charm on his arm because the Dark Mark stood out against his pale skin, telling him that the Dark Lord was summoning him. But Draco didn't want to go. He was done with that. He hadn't even wanted to become a Death Eater in the first place. It was done to him entirely against his own will to begin with. 

"We can't talk safely. Not here." Draco said after a moment. "There's no way to know for sure who's listening." Crabbe and Goyle nodded, still not saying anything. "We need to be extremely careful. Any wrong move..." Draco trailed off, thinking for a second. "They may not be able to hurt Harry, or kill us when he's around, but Harry won't always be there to protect us." 

Draco suddenly had a flash of a conversation his father had relayed to him after his second year. 

_"Let us hope that Mr. Potter will always be around, to save the day."_

_"Don't worry, I will be."_

"Though he does have a habit of just showing up to save the day. He does have a hero complex." 

He could hear Crabbe and Goyle snigger slightly at that and Draco had to admit it made him smile slightly. He evaluated the room. There was no way to know what exactly they would do to them. He was almost wanted to run. He was unprotected with the most dangerous people in the world and he would somehow have to sleep with them lurking right around the corner. There was no way he could do it. How had Harry done it for so many years? He rubbed his forehead and moved over to the bed that was clearly left for him to the left of the room. 

"I don't think he'll try anything with Dumbledore around." 

Malfoy started at the voice. "Did I just hear the word think come out of your mouth, Goyle?" Goyle nodded, raising an eyebrow. Draco looked back toward the door. "You could be right. It wouldn't be advantageous to taunt Dumbledore and Harry both. As well as the founders. There's a lot of power under this roof. I doubt Harry would take too kindly to people just starting to die, or even being tortured."

He could hear the other two shift uncomfortably at the word torture, but he was staring at the door more. "Still, we should be cautious." Draco flicked his wand and wards appeared on the door. "That should help. At least we'll know if they try to come in, assuming they don't dismantle them, which I'll feel if they try." Draco's stomach was rolling and part of him wished he hadn't eaten so much at dinner. "We should try to get some sleep. Tomorrow I'm going to try to talk to Harry. Maybe he can help, give us some idea of what to do." The other two started shifting in their beds. He heard the closing of curtains and the undeniable thump of a people flopping back on a bed. 

Draco had to admit his biggest worry wasn't for himself or Crabbe or Goyle. The three of them could take care of themselves. It was Scorpius. Scorpius was just a child. In fact, when this all started, they all were just children. But he wasn't a child anymore, despite the body he was in. But his son, his son didn't deserve to be hurt or tortured or even taunted because of him. Maybe he could get Dumbledore to bend the rules and let Scorpius stay somewhere else. Or he could move Scorpius into the room that he, Crabbe, and Goyle were in. He could give his son privacy if that's what he wanted. But his son had to be protected. He would arrange that. He had to arrange that. 

There was another distinct set of footsteps that echoed and Draco's eyes shot to the door. Crabbe and Goyle were asleep, but Draco was not. There was a knock on the door and Draco stood quickly, moving toward the door.  _I'm going to die, but at least I'll die protecting them._ He thought as he turned the handle. Much to his surprise however, the person on the other side of the door was not Tom Riddle. It was Scorpius. Draco sighed with relief as he pulled his son in. 

"I don't want to stay up there alone. I'm worried. I don't like it." Draco nodded at his son and shut the door behind them. A forth bed appeared along with Scorpius's things. Draco smiled. 

"There. You can sleep there. And stay here." 

Scorpius seemed all too happy to flop down on the bed, close the curtains, and drift off to sleep. Draco looked around at the three sleeping figures which could barely be seen through the curtains. At least they all seemed capable of sleep. He looked at the watch on his wrist which he would barely see in the greenish glow of the Slytherin room. It was just a little after three in the morning. He supposed he should sleep, but he felt wide awake. He went back to his own bed, drawing the curtains, and flopped on the four poster bed. He stared above him. What exactly was the plan of bringing everyone here? There seemed to be no logic in bringing everything together. There were too many strong wizards locked suddenly in one place. 

Could they even leave Hogwarts? Many of them weren't supposed to be alive. What happened if they left?

Thoughts were whirling around Draco's head. No wonder he couldn't sleep. 

He rolled on his side, trying to force his mind to empty.  _Sleep. I need sleep._

It took long enough, but Draco Malfoy eventually succumbed to exhaustion. 

* * *

Harry was awake by eight the next morning. His body felt like lead and his mind felt like sludge. He moved slowly as he got out of bed and dressed himself, pulling on jeans and a t-shirt. He slipped his wand into his pocket, rubbed his eyes, and slid on his glasses. He tried to tame his hair, even though he knew it was no use. It was never any use, even as an adult. His hair was everywhere. He trudged out of the room and down the stairs. Had more appeared since last night? It feel like there were, it took forever to get down them. He ignored the people in the common room, he wasn't really one for talking at the moment. He walked out of the portrait and down into the Great Hall and over toward the Gryffindor table, sitting down heavily. 

"Good morning sunshine!" Came an all too chipper voice next to him. Harry didn't answer but transfigured a cup so it became like the to-go cups he often got on his way to work in the mornings and then transfigured the liquid inside into coffee. He needed something much stronger than tea this morning. He could feel the heat coming from the cup so he put it to his aching, sleep deprived head. 

"You could have slept in you know." He could clearly tell that that was his mother. He shook his head, still not speaking. He had somewhere to be three hours and he wanted to be coherent for that. Someone was piling his plate with food. He looked over to see his father and he smiled gratefully. 

"Eat up sunshine." Harry nodded, taking a drink of the coffee in his hand before setting the cup down to focus on the plate in front of him. He began to eat, enjoying the taste of the eggs. He had forgotten how good the food at Hogwarts was. Once the eggs were gone he moved to the bacon which he wolfed down quickly. 

"He's got your appetite, Prongs." Sirius elbowed James. "Though I don't understand how he can always be so thin when he can eat so much." 

Harry laughed from behind his coffee cup, which refilled itself once he finished it. 

"Harry?" He looked at his mother. "You look like you're planning something. What is it?"

Harry felt slightly more coherent now, and while his mind wasn't moving like sludge anymore, he still had to wait a second before answering. "Dumbledore wants me to come into his office around eleven. I'll probably be in there most of the day." 

"What does he want you to do?" James asked. 

"He just wants my help with trying to figure out what to do with this. With what's going on." It wasn't exactly the truth but it wasn't a lie either. For some reason he just didn't want to tell them that he was going to help build the curriculum that they were going to undergo. It felt wrong in a way. They seemed to accept that answer as Harry reached for more bacon. 

Harry saw him before he saw Harry. He started walking toward the Gryffindor table and Harry stood to meet him. His eyes were wide and he looked like he hadn't slept very well if at all. His normal impeccable locks were disheveled and he had dark rings around his eyes stood out against his pale skin. He came to an abrupt stop in front of Harry. 

"Malfoy? What's wrong?"

Malfoy looked at the people who were eyeing him at the Gryffindor table. 

"Can we talk in private?" 

Harry nodded and followed the Malfoy out of the Great Hall after he grabbed his coffee cup. He noticed that Scorpius had come in and was sitting next to Albus and he couldn't help but smile as the two bumped each other playfully. Harry walked behind Malfoy as they went outside and walked toward the lake. He didn't stop until they were right at the edge, far away from the nearest person. Draco cast a Silencing Charm around the two of them but he still looked around warily. 

"We don't have much time. I'm probably being watched with everything I do and I guarantee you that Tom is not very happy with the fact that I didn't show up to the Death Eater reunion last night." 

"You didn't show?" Harry asked, skeptical. 

"No." Draco's answer was clipped and he pulled up his sleeve to reveal the Dark Mark. It was dark against his skin. "It would be debilitating if I didn't have numbing charm on it right now. But that's not the point. I didn't show up because I didn't want to. I'm not a Death Eater, I don't want to be a Death Eater. My allegiance is to someone else." Draco looked meaningfully at Harry and Harry nodded, understanding. "I've made some bad choices in the past. Believed the wrong things. Said the wrong things. But I'm not that person anymore. You know that." Harry nodded again and was about to speak but Draco cut him off. "He told them not to harm you."

"What?!" Harry's disbelief overwhelmed him. This time Draco was nodding. 

"Yes. Tom told them not to touch one hair on your head. He made them all say that they understood. My father..." Draco's voice held a note of disgust in it, "He ran right back to him. I don't think my mother wants anything to do with him, to be honest. I saw how she looked at you during the Sorting last night." Draco looked around them again, as if to make sure that they were still alone. "But...Harry what's going on? Why are we all here? There's a lot of power here. Not just you and him but Dumbledore, the founders-"

"Grindelwald." Harry added before Draco could continue. 

"Grindelwald's here too?" Draco asked, astounded. 

"Yes. I didn't know until Dumbledore told me last night, but I guess he and Dumbledore are working together. To make sure that Tom doesn't try anything. There's a lot of power between the two of them." Harry ran his hand through his hair as he finished. "You're right. There is a lot of power here. I really don't understand what's going on. As far as I can tell though, whoever put us here wanted us here for schooling of some sort. They wanted us to be here to learn. Think about it," He said at Draco's incredulous look, "We came on September first, the day Hogwarts always starts. We started arriving in the Great Hall the same time the train always arrives at Hogwarts. We were Sorted. That hat was ready and waiting for just the right time. We have professors who just appeared. We were sent here to learn something."

Draco nodded, eyeing Harry. "Maybe we aren't all meant to learn the same lesson." 

Harry felt his jaw drop. "I...I hadn't thought of that." Draco smirked. 

"You do remember that my grades were always right behind Granger's right?" 

Harry nodded. "Yeah. It should be you two going today, not me." He muttered, mostly to himself. 

"Going where?" Draco asked, looking genuinely curious. 

"It's nothing." Harry backtracked quickly, waving his hand dismissively. "Is there anything else you need to tell me?"

Draco shook his head. "I"m just worried. About myself, Crabbe, Goyle. They want a chance to get to know you, you know. They don't want to be Death Eaters either. I spoke with them yesterday. They didn't join the meeting either. But they can take care of themselves. It's Scorpius. He could use my son to get to me like what Fenrir did with Lupin and what was done with me. It's not below them to use a child against their parents. I was wondering...that protection that you did last night..." Draco's voice trailed off as he looked around again. 

"Can I keep it going all the time?" Harry finished for Draco, trying to catch the other's eyes. Draco looked at him eventually and nodded. Harry smiled. "He's protected. They all are. It was something I learned to do. Especially being around aurors all the time. I can't teach anyone else though. Trust me, I've tried. I don't know what it is." 

Draco nodded glumly. "Ok."

Harry looked at his watch. "I should get going. I want to do somethings before I have to meet Dumbledore." Draco nodded again.

Harry turned to go back up to the castle when he saw the marching Death Eaters. They weren't really marching, but they all moved together like one swift animal. At the head was Tom Riddle, as handsome as ever. They moved as one, each in step with their leader. Directly behind Tom was Bellatrix and she looked just as fierce as ever despite being eleven. Tom looked like he enjoyed being older and taller than all of them. Harry himself had stayed in his sixteen year old form, but that was mostly on accident. He had just forgotten to shift back. Seeing Tom Riddle, however, made him think that maybe staying on even ground with his opponent would be the best idea. Tom's eyes flashed over to him and his lips pulled into a sadistic grin. They were just walking across the grass. Harry didn't know where they had come from, or where they were going, but it didn't seem good. There could be nothing about that group being together that would be good. Lucius was behind Bellatrix. His eyes were downcast. It almost seemed as though he didn't want to be there, yet he was anyway. As a matter of fact, many of them looked like they didn't want to be there, except for Bellatrix. 

"Welcome to the black parade." Harry muttered to Draco. Draco snorted. 

The two of them watched the miniature army pass and then Harry trudged toward the castle. He felt, rather than saw, Tom catch up with him. Draco's Silencing Charm had been lifted the moment Harry had begun to walk away from him which Harry thought was unfortunate. He would have given anything to have an excuse not to talk to Tom Riddle. But unfortunately, here he was with the young Lord Voldemort, walking in step with him. 

"Harry." Tom purred. 

"What do you want Riddle?" Harry's voice was sharp.

"Why Harry, I'm offended. You're supposed to be kind, I was hoping we could have a fresh start. You gave one to Draco." Tom was still keeping up with him and Harry noticed it was only Tom. 

"Where's you black parade Tom? Did you get bored of your puppets already?" He could here Tom chuckle beside him. 

"Oh you are quite right Harry, they are my puppets. So easy to control. So easy manipulate. So afraid of me. They all are. Even Draco, though he isn't on my side anymore is he? No he's joined the Boy Who Lived. He follows you now. Typical of a Malfoy, to find someone to follow. His grandfather was the same way, his father is the same way. They all need someone to follow. So Draco follows you. Oh don't worry. I won't touch a hair on his pretty little head. Or his son's for that matter. Them, all of this, it doesn't really matter to me." Harry was quickly becoming annoyed and enchanted with Tom's velvety voice. Was that possible to be effected like that? "No, what matters to me now isn't ruling the wizarding world. You've already taken care of that."

Harry stopped abruptly and turned to look at Tom, who's eyes were glinting mischievously. "What do you mean?" 

"I mean Harry," Harry suppressed a shudder at how his name fell from Tom's lips, "That the wizarding world follows you. Oh I still have loyal followers here and there. But when you speak, they listen. The Boy Who Lived. The Chosen One. They flock to you in droves. I bet if you wanted a law to happen, the Minister of Magic would jump at the chance to make it. Even amongst my own loyal, they waver, because you've shown them kindness." He sneered the last word. "Only Bellatrix remains utterly devoted to me. And oh yes, I know how you feel about her. You want to rip her limb from limb." Tom's voice dropped to a whisper and this time Harry really did shiver. Tom, who was much taller than Harry, was leaning over him. "I told you before, Harry Potter, you and I are so very much alike. That anger that you've had for a while now, ever since the graveyard. It bubbles inside you. I know how badly you want to unleash it on Bellatrix. She murdered your beloved Godfather. So go ahead, Harry Potter," Tom's face was inches from Harry's, "She's all yours." 

It was that snapped Harry out of whatever trance he was in. "You would give up your most loyal follower just to prove a point?" Harry took a step back. "Thanks but no thanks. Contrary to your belief, we are nothing alike Riddle." Harry turned on his heal and left Tom staring after him, with a hungry look on his face. 

Harry went back up to Gryffindor tower and dug through his things, finding some parchment and a quill to write on. He shoved them inside a sack and he stuffed his cloak and the Map inside his pocket. He didn't know why, but something told him to bring those just in case. His excursion outside had taken longer than he had planned and it was nearly ten now. He huffed and threw the bag on his shoulder. He looked around the room and found just who he was looking for. 

"Mom!" She looked up from the book she was buried in and smiled at him. She was about to say something but Harry was in a rush, so he cut her off. "Look I would love to chat but I really don't have time. Could you just come with me? I need a favor." 

"Of course, Harry." 

The two of them walked to the second floor girl's bathroom. "I need you to make sure that no one besides the ghost is in there." He said to his mother. "Don't ask. I don't think that anyone else will be, but I just want to be sure." Lily nodded and went inside. A moment later she popped her head out, "It's clear." He looked around to make sure that no one was watching and then he slipped inside. 

"I hate this. He could be anywhere." He grumbled aloud. 

"Who could?" His mother asked. 

"Tom. He could easily use a Disillusionment Charm." Harry tapped his chin then pulled out his wand. " _Homenum revelio."_ He and Lily looked around. "We're alone."

"Well as alone as you can be with a ghost." Another voice, higher pitched than Lily's, offered. 

Harry spun. "Myrtle!"

"Hello Harry! You came to visit me!" She looked rather happy to see him, which Harry was grateful for. He didn't have time to deal with a crying ghost at the moment. 

"Look, I don't have much time. But I have to ask you, can you get down into the Chamber of Secrets?" 

Myrtle looked at him like he was insane. "Why would I ever go down there?" 

"That's not the question Myrtle. Can you?" 

She eyed him warily for a second before nodding slowly. Lily was observing the whole interaction, silently, her head following the conversation from speaker to speaker. 

"I need you to do me a favor. I'll come visit you more if you do, I promise." Harry swallowed thickly, knowing he would have to if Myrtle actually agreed. 

"What do you want from me, Harry Potter?" Myrtle's voice was wary. 

"I need you to go down there and tell me if the basilisk is alive." 

"WHAT?!" Myrtle screamed at him. She made back for her toilet but Harry reacted quickly. 

"Wait Myrtle please. I know why you're afraid. I know. I understand. I just need to know if it's alive. You can hear it, don't look at it. But Myrtle," The ghost looked at him when he paused, "Tom Riddle is back in the castle." He heard her inhale sharply. "If we don't know, if that basilisk is still alive, a lot more people will die. Please Myrtle. Help me stop it." He didn't know if it was he plea or the fact that Tom was back in the castle or that she had experienced first hand what it was like to die under the glare of the basilisk, but Myrtle nodded at him. 

"Alright Harry Potter." 

"Thank you Myrtle. I don't know if I can make it back today, but if I can it will be late at night. If not it will be tomorrow, but I will come back." Myrtle nodded at him again before she dove for the sink that lead to the chamber below. Harry turned back toward his mother. 

"You're friends with Moaning Myrtle?" She was eyeing him with a weird sort of expression that he couldn't place. 

Harry shrugged. "I guess. I'll tell you the story later, but I have to get going." 

Lily nodded and stuck her head out into the corridor. "Coast is clear." She said after a moment. The two ventured out of the bathroom and down the hallway. 

"I'll see you in the common room later, Mom." Harry said as he pulled Lily in for a hug. She didn't say anything, just nodded against his chest as she hugged him. He then headed for the Headmaster's office. 

He paused outside the statue, realizing he had no idea what the password was. 

"Lemon sherbert." A voice came from behind him. He turned to see Snape walking up behind him. 

"Thanks." Harry muttered, wishing he had kept his coffee, but he left it in his room when he was rummaging through his trunk. Snape didn't say anything as they waited for the statue to move and they walked through the door to Dumbledore's office. Inside McGonagall, Slughorn, and the founders waited for them. 

"Ah, Harry, Severus. Good morning." Dumbledore's voice echoed from his chair. Harry smiled slightly and Snape gave a curt nod. "We're still waiting on a few others, but take a seat." 

In the center of the room was a round table with chairs enough for every professor, the founders, and Harry. Godric patted the chair next to him when Harry looked at the table, making it clear that he wanted Harry to sit next to him. On Godric's other side sat Salazar. Helga and Rowena sat across the table from them, which Harry thought was odd, but he wasn't really paying attention as he sat his stuff down, another much more enticing sight caught his eye. 

"Fawkes!" Harry rushed toward the phoenix who made a sound of welcome in return. Fawkes hopped down from his perch onto Dumbledore's desk so Harry could pet him and Harry was all too happy to oblige. 

"He missed you." Dumbledore said. Harry smiled at his professor before returning his attention to the phoenix. Fawkes was pushing his head into Harry's hand like Harry wasn't giving him enough attention. It vaguely reminded Harry of a cat. The bird spread his wings momentarily before moving closer to Harry and putting his head against Harry's chest. Harry stroked the bird's back and then Fawkes pulled away, made a crooning sound, and hopped back on his perch. Harry smiled at the bird before turning around to return to his seat only to find that the other people in the room were staring at him. 

"What?" Harry asked indignantly. 

"Phoenixes don't do that often, Harry." Dumbledore clarified. "Only for very certain people, very special people." Harry raised an eyebrow. 

"Special? But there's nothing special about me? I've gotten lucky. That's it. Lucky with a ton of help." 

* * *

_Harry had thought about it over the years, everything that happened to him. Even now as he sat in his study, staring out the window. Ginny had taken Albus and James to the park, leaving Harry to have chance to do his paperwork. But Harry couldn't focus. So he turned his attention to the window. He read something somewhere about how looking at nature for even ten seconds could help someone focus again. Well the backyard of the Potter house counted as nature, so that's where Harry looked. He took off his glasses and blinked at the green fuzziness through the window before rubbing his eyes and putting the spectacles back on. Something felt off about today. He couldn't focus, he couldn't think straight._

_Sometimes he thought that everything that had happened to him over the years had just been a fluke. A lot of it made absolutely no sense. How exactly did an eleven year old defeat a powerful wizard, even if he was weakened and being a parasite out of the back of someone else's head? Well he had help. How exactly did a twelve year old defeat a full grown, thousand year old basilisk? He couldn't have done it if Fawkes hadn't show up with the Sorting Hat. How did a thirteen year old send away what seemed like every dementor ever at the edge of a lake? Well Lupin taught him the patronus charm. How did a fourteen year old escape a graveyard where the most powerful dark wizard ever stood with his worst followers? Well the ghosts of all the people said dark wizard killed blinded him momentarily. How did a fifteen year old escape Voldemort at the Ministry of Magic? He didn't. Dumbledore beat him. How did a sixteen year old survive a fight with inferi? He didn't. Dumbledore fought them off. How did a seventeen year old track down horcruxes and destroy them? He didn't. His friends did that. How did a seventeen year old defeat the most powerful dark wizard to ever exist? He didn't. He just happened to disarm Draco Malfoy so that wand said Dark Wizard was using was actually loyal to Harry and not the dark lord._

_Harry still woke up seeing Cedric flying backward from the Killing Curse. He still saw Sirius drift into the veil._ He wouldn't have died if it weren't for me.  _Harry often thought. He felt the pain of the Cruciatus curse hitting him. Once. Twice. Three times._

_Right after the war it had been the worst. He woke up screaming. Now though, he could have the dreams and he didn't thrash as much. He didn't scream anymore. But they were still there. Sometimes when he was tracking down dark witches and wizards he would have flashes of fighting Voldemort in the_ _graveyard, and he would feel himself sweat. His heart would pound in his ears and his blood would run cold._

_"A songbird and an old hat."_

_Voldemort's manic laughter._

_His name being spoken, most of the time in Parseltongue, right in his ear. As if Voldemort himself was whispering it, taunting him._

_All these memories came to him now. He tried to suppress them. He didn't want them to come back around his children. The sound of Hermione's screams. Dobby's lifeless body in his arms. Blood, so much blood. Remus. Tonks. Fred. His parents. Sirius. Cedric. Mad Eye. Hedwig. He could see Arthur Weasley being attacked over and over._

_Harry Potter dropped his head into his hands and cried._

* * *

Those around the table looked at Harry like he was crazy. "Luck?" Harry wasn't sure who had spoken, but he really didn't care. He turned away from them and looked at Dumbledore. 

"Are you really sure I should be here? There are far smarter people than me here." 

Dumbledore's piercing gaze rested on him. "Harry, did any of those people create a society in their fifth year dedicated to teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts when their assigned teacher was incompetent?" Harry opened his mouth to answer that it was really Hermione's idea but Dumbledore wasn't having it. "No? Let's try again. Did any of them duel Voldemort after having endured the Triwizard Tournament, seeing a friend die, and being tortured? No? Let's try again. Did any of them fight a basilisk and stab it through with the Sword of Gryffindor? No? Let's try again. Did any of them blatantly lie to Lord Voldemort to protect to the Stone?" Dumbledore stopped, looking at Harry. "You may say it was luck, or that you had help. And that is true. You did have help, Harry. No one could have done it alone. But you still did most of it alone. I cannot imagine what the last years have been like for you. Carrying around the weight of all that you've been through. But Harry, that was still you. When it came down to it, that was you. Not your friends. Not me. Not anyone but you. I know it must have been hard, and I know that these last years cannot have been easy. But you cannot think that you are anything less than what you are." 

Harry looked at Dumbledore, searching his eyes. "And what exactly am I? The Boy Who Lived? The Chosen One? A hero? I'm none of those things." Harry had held all of this in for years, never telling anyone about how much pain everything he had been through really caused him. He wasn't exactly sure at what point he had stood up, but he was standing now, his attention focused entirely on Dumbledore. "Do you really know how hard it's been knowing everything that I've been through? Do you know what it's like every time I'm around a dementor? Hearing my mother scream. I'm not saying that you haven't been through some shit too Professor," Harry felt himself backtracking. The very last thing he wanted was to be disrespectful, even though he was cursing now, "But it hasn't exactly been a walk in the park. It's not like every night I get to sleep easy. Hearing that damn laugh over and over again in my head." Harry's fist came down on the table. "You think fifth year was bad? It was nothing compared to what I've had to deal with. But I've held it in. I haven't told anyone. Because I have children now. I have a family. I have people who count on me. But there are still times then my heart stops when I hear them scream at night from their nightmares, because I can't help but wonder if mine are coming true. I'm not the Boy Who Lived. I'm not the Chosen One. I'm broken." 

He turned on his heal and moved to the chair he was supposed to sit in, flopping himself down. The others in the room were still staring at him, but Harry didn't care. He focused somewhere over Rowena's head and was determined not to look at any of them again until he had to. Someone sat down next to him and a hand touched his wrist. He shuddered slightly at how cold it was. He looked over to see the face of Minerva McGonagall. She patted his hand, not saying anything. He nodded at her, blinking back tears. He could have sworn she was doing the same, but he turned away and focused on the spot he was staring at before. 

The room was silent until all the Professors joined them. There was one man who Harry did not recognize, but everyone else Harry knew. Dumbledore sat at what Harry assumed to be the head of the table, though it was round so there wasn't much of a head. The man Harry didn't recognize sat next to him so Harry assumed this man was Gellert Grindelwald. He was a tall man, from what Harry could tell. His hair was as long as Dumbledore's and was held back in what looked like a ponytail. His beard also rivaled Dumbledore's in length and they both appeared to be the same age. Harry idly wondered if this was what Gellert would have looked like if he had not aged in prison. His form was broader than Dumbledore's and his hands much more muscular than Dumbledore's bony ones. 

"Welcome everyone." Harry looked around the rest of the table. Everyone there looked as dead on their feet as Harry felt. He was glad. Maybe he wouldn't be as out of place. "I'm sure you're all well aware that this is a very unusual situation and therefore calls for an unusual set of curriculum. So we have gathered here to discuss what exactly we should do. It does appear that whomever put us here wanted school to continue as normal." Dumbledore paused, looking around. "So what are we going to do?" 

"Professor," Harry started, all eyes turned to him. "What are we going to do about the handful of students who are actually supposed to be here? They can't be doing different curriculum and they're all at different levels despite the fact that they are all in their eleven year old bodies." 

"Ah. A fair point, Harry." He looked around the table. "Any ideas?" 

Harry swallowed. This was going no where fast. What exactly were they all sent to learn. 

"We could have them start from the beginning again." Snape began. Harry was about to protest but Snape raised his hand. "Think about it before you start arguing with me. They were all sent back into their eleven year old bodies too and only one of them was actually supposed to be eleven. All of their parents, or guardians are here, there's no reason not to start them again and give them an advantage to try harder and learn more." 

"He does have a point." Salazar spoke. "It gives us a chance to keep them all in one place. They can all be taught together, kept together and away from everyone else when it comes to classes. And it will give your daughter a chance to have help." He nodded at Harry.

Harry nodded his head reluctantly. He knew his sons and Teddy would not like it, but it seemed like the best option at the moment. "Alright. That solves one problem. What about everyone else?" Harry thought back to what Draco said earlier in the day and since no one else was talking, he decided to speak. "I was speaking with a friend of mine earlier and he said something that caught my interest. I mentioned to him about how we were probably brought here to learn, as in go to school. But his idea was more that we each had an individual lesson to learn from this. Each of us was brought here for a lesson that we had to learn." 

He looked around at the others at the table who seemed to agree. "It would make sense." Rowena answered him while nodding. 

"I have been in contact with the current Headmaster of Hogwarts. It appears there are two of our illustrious schools." Dumbledore said after everyone quieted down.

"What?" 

"How is that possible?"

"That can't be." 

Dumbledore nodded gravely. "To answer your question from last night Harry. That's where the rest of the students are. They are at that Hogwarts. It appears, they received a letter saying that the students we have here would be attending school here instead of at that Hogwarts." 

There was silence around the room before Harry finally spoke. "Well that answers that question." 

"Indeed. But it still doesn't deal with the biggest issue at hand." 

Glances drifted around the table as everyone looked this way and that to try and figure out what exactly they should do. Harry found his eyes landing on Snape often and he sighed knowing what was about to admit. 

"I think Snape, sorry,  _Professor_ Snape was right. We should probably review some basics. You can know a lot of advanced things but sometimes the basics can escape you." Snape smirked at hearing Harry Potter say he was right about something, but Harry ignored him and continued. "I can guarantee you not everyone is perfect at everything. A lot of people have room to improve. We could see where people's weak points are and maybe even encourage them to try things they didn't before." 

"I guess that means no Defense Against the Dark Arts for you then Potter." McGonagall's voice came from beside him. 

Harry shrugged. "Could always use some more work with Transfiguration though." 

Godric snorted next to him. "Coming from the guy who turned a mug into a to-go cup and turned water to coffee."

"That's was inanimate stuff. I still have trouble with human transfiguration." A thought came to Harry's mind, and he hoped maybe Professor McGonagall caught onto it as he looked at her. She gave him a small nod. 

"I like that idea. We could give everyone basically an O.W.L. and see where there weak spots are and assign them classes based off that." Rowena spoke again. She seemed to be tapping her chin, her mind whirring. It was almost possible to see the wheels turning in her head as she thought. 

"What do we tell them then? And when should we set the...test for?" Harry asked. 

"We'll set the test for Monday. It will give us enough time to design it. We'll set pin ups in the common rooms. Heads of Houses will worry about that. As well we also need to set up prefects and Head Boys and Girls."

Harry turned to McGonagall. "Can I make a suggestion for either prefects or Head Boy and Girl for Gryffindor?" 

McGonagall eyed him. "Who?" 

"Ron and Hermione." Harry said quickly. "And not just because they're my friends. They deserve it." 

"Not going to suggest yourself?" Came Snape's snappy response. 

Harry turned to him with a mischievous grin. "No. I'm hoping for Quidditch captain." 

"Well all that can be dealt with later." Dumbledore said, though he had a glint in his eyes. "I think we should work on designing the exam. Each Professor will design with part for which they teach. Harry and Severus, you two will work together on the Defense Against the Dark Arts portion." Harry nodded. "Very good. Let's get to work." 

Harry stood to move closer to Snape so they could work together, but McGonagall got his attention first. "Potter. I would like to speak with you for a moment." Harry nodded. 

"I'll be right back." He said to Snape who gave him a curt nod before pulling a piece of parchment out. 

Harry followed McGonagall into a back room of Dumbledore's study which Harry didn't even know existed. She waited until Harry shut the door before speaking. "I assume that you were suggesting the fact that you would like to study to become an animagus." Harry nodded. She tapped her chin. "I hope you realize that that is a long process. And an arduous one. It's not easy. And it takes extensive amounts of magic and concentration." Harry nodded again. He had read up on the process of becoming an animagus in the past, but he had never gotten around to doing it. Now seemed like the perfect time, especially if McGonagall was willing to help him. "Very well. If you're willing to commit to it, I will help you." 

"Thank you Professor." Harry couldn't help the twinge of excitement that bubbled within him. 

"Another thing, have you been keeping up with your flying?" Harry broke out into a large grin. 

"Of course Professor. It's like muscle memory. And it will be a lot easier like this than it would be in my actual body." McGonagall eyed him, looking him over. Then she nodded. 

"Very well, Mr. Potter. I hope you pick a good team, Captain." 

Harry grinned.

The rest of the day passed very slowly. It wasn't that Snape and Harry didn't get along, or even argued a lot. It was quite the contrary. They seemed to think on the same page for the most part, only correcting each other very rarely. It was just that the damn thing took forever to write. The group took both lunch and dinner inside Dumbledore's office. Harry and Snape had finished before the others had, probably the luck of having two people working on one thing, but they both insisted on going over it at least five times each, correcting and rewriting things. The DADA portion had been written probably seven times by the time Dumbledore had said that everyone should head to bed. It was at the end of the day the Harry had yet another sense of respect for Snape. He had never realized how smart the man really was. Harry had forgiven Snape for the things he had done in his past, even named his child after him, but he couldn't help but have a respect for the man that was different than everyone else. Maybe it was deceiving Voldemort or maybe it was just that Harry had grown up and he understood. But he and Snape saw eye to eye. 

Harry waited until everyone else left Dumbledore's office before he addressed the Headmaster. Dumbledore vanished the table before looking at Harry. "Yes Harry." Harry grinned at him. 

"Me. I got the Cloak. The Map too." There was no point in hiding anything from Dumbledore, there was no way he didn't know about the Marauder's Map. Dumbledore grinned at him. "Ah. I thought as much." He paused, stroking his beard, his eyes twinkling. "Use it well." 

"Yes Professor. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Harry."

Harry trudged back toward the Gryffindor common room. He was just about to start on the steps when he remember he'd promised earlier in the day. He ran up the second flight and toward the girl's bathroom on the second floor. Checking the hall, he ducked inside the bathroom. 

"Well, well." 

Harry's eyes widened with surprise as he took in the sight of Tom Riddle just inside the door. He was staring in the mirror, looking back at Harry. Tom turned on his heel, spinning in a perfect circle to look at Harry directly. "Now what do we have here."

Tom's voice was barely above a murmur but it was cold and calculating. "I imagine you are here for the same reason I am. But you can't get down into the Chamber anymore can you? You lost the ability to use Parseltongue haven't you?" Riddle started moving closer to him. "You can't get down there. You can't see if the...family pet...is still alive." Harry backed up and was right against the door but Tom kept advancing. There was something about Tom Riddle in the darkness of the night that made him much more menacing. He kept moving forward, like a panther stalking its prey, and that's exactly what Riddle looked like the dim light of the bathroom. A panther. He was entirely lean muscle, moving like cat. His dark hair and dark eyes. Everything about Tom Marvolo Riddle was fixed on Harry. 

Thankfully for Harry, he had learned Occulmency in the time since Voldemort's downfall. It had been necessary against some of the wizards Harry had come up against. He was glad now, because Riddle was staring into his eyes as if he wanted to pull every horrible memory Harry had ever had forward. But he couldn't. He was met with nothing. Harry was glad because wanted to keep the fact that he could once again understand Parseltongue to himself for the time being. 

Riddle stalked closer until he was right on top of Harry. Harry was struck by the humanness of Tom Riddle and that he was rather warm. He could feel the heat coming from Riddle's body. He probably hadn't noticed it before because it was warm everywhere else when they had been this close, but it was cold in this bathroom. He was caught off guard by Riddle's scent; earth, grain, and something bitter sweet that Harry didn't have a name for. Tom was right on top of him and his hands moved to either side of Harry's head. Harry was trapped. 

"What do you want in the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter?" Tom's seductive voice nearly made Harry shiver, nearly. But he had more self control than he thought he did. 

"Get away from me Riddle." Harry answered through gritted teeth. 

"I don't think you want that." Tom's voice was barely above a whisper. 

 _What are you doing?_ Harry thought viciously at Tom as he looked up into the obsidian eyes. Now that his head was bent to look more at Harry, a loose curl hung across his forehead. Tom started leaning in closer to him, his eyes still locked on Harry's. Harry was transfixed for a moment more before he realized how close Tom really was. 

"No." He practically growled, ducking under Tom's arm and moving away from him. He stared at Tom. "For your information, I happen to have a friend here, a friend whom I promised to visit. So I would very much appreciate it if you would get out." 

Harry glared at Tom but Tom had more of a feral grin on his face. His eyes had a glint to them. "Alright then, Harry Potter." He ran his tongue over his lips. Harry tried very hard to ignore this fact. 

"Get. Out." 

Tom made a low bow before he turned on his heal and left. Harry waited for a few moments before he stuck his head out the door and said,  _"Homenum revelio."_ No one appeared. He ducked back inside the bathroom just in time to see Myrtle pop up. 

"Anything?" She shook her head. Harry sighed with relief. "Thank you. I promise I'll visit more often and you won't have to go back down there again." Myrtle gave him another nod. "Are you ok?" 

She looked at the sink where the entrance was. "It's just seeing him again...I remember..." She trailed off, looking sad. But not the type of sad that caused her to bawl like she normally did. Instead it was different, haunted. "Harry, I want you do to me a favor." 

Harry cocked his head. "What is it Myrtle?" She looked at him this sad, round eyes. 

"Try and save him...from himself. I...I can tell he has this connection with you. Maybe you can get through to him. Maybe you can help him. Maybe you can save him." Myrtle looked away from Harry. "Did you know he cried after the basilisk killed me? I heard him." Harry shook his head. "No. I didn't know that." His voice was barely above a whisper. "Promise me you'll try." 

She looked back to Harry and Harry nodded. "I'll try." 

"Thank you Harry." 

Back in Gryffindor Tower, Harry stared at the curtain of his four poster. He was closest to the wall of all of them, so if he turned on his right side he was facing the wall. He thought about what Myrtle had said. She wanted him to save Tom Riddle. Save him from turning back into Voldemort. How exactly was Harry supposed to do that?

He fell asleep with his mind still racing. 

There wasn't much of a difference from the day before when it came to breakfast except for the fact that Harry was much more coherent. He laughed and joked with his family. This morning they were joined by Lily, Teddy, Albus, and Scorpius. Their group was rather loud, but it didn't seem that anyone minded it. Eventually they moved outside, sitting near the lake under the same tree where James and his friends had sat and where Harry, Ron, and Hermione had sat. 

"Did you see the posting in the common room?" Prongs asked. 

"Yes." Padfoot answered, looking disgruntled. 

"I think it's a good idea." Moony answered, eyeing Harry. Harry couldn't help but give him a grateful smile. 

They talked a little more and when the chatter died down, a smile grew on Harry's face. 

"So..." The group was silenced immediately. "There's this game, I don't know if any of you have heard of it. You fly around on a broom-" But Harry was cut off with a chorus of "QUIDDITCH!" Harry laughed. "Yes that. Well as you all know, Hogwarts has their own teams..." He trailed off to let the others wonder exactly what he was getting out. Harry's father and godfather were watching him with baited breathe, Fred and George were nearly bouncing, and Ron looked like he might fly without a broom. 

"Oh out with it mate!" Ron yelled. 

"Oh fine! Spoil my fun." Harry huffed. "I'm Quidditch captain. So I'm going to have to put together a team..." Harry trailed off again, purposely looking away to let them come to their own conclusions. "I was thinking tryouts would be next Saturday. I'm really hoping to have a good team." Harry's eyes sparkled as he looked specifically at the people he wanted. 

James, though he enjoyed Quidditch, had preferred to watch rather than play. Harry couldn't fault him for that. He did, however, look very excited at the prospect of watching is father play. 

"You know, just in case you know a couple of good beaters." He looked pointedly at Fred and George. "Or a couple of good chasers." He looked at Padfoot and Prongs. "Or maybe even a good keeper." He looked at Ron with a grin. "Just in case." He said with a shrug, sounding very nonchalant, but he was grinning the whole time. 

His father and godfather were about to answer when suddenly their faces paled. The group around him got very silent, and as a matter of fact, everything and everyone grew silent. There was no wind, no sound at all. The air grew colder and when Harry breathed out, he could see his breath. 

He jumped to his feet and turned around quickly to see dementors flying toward the school. People started screaming and running and even his own group, the people he had trained, seemed struck, mostly because of the sheer number of them. There were hundreds of dementors and they were flying right at Hogwarts. 

"GET INSIDE!" Harry roared and people obeyed, running into the castle. He saw Hagrid seal himself inside his hut as he ran up the hill, purposely putting himself last to make sure everyone got inside. One girl fell and Harry ran past her, stopped abruptly and ran back to get her. 

"Can you move?" He asked her. She nodded. "Good. Let's go." He pushed her ahead of him as people called to them to hurry up, waving their hands frantically. She made it. 

He didn't. 

The first dementor swept down on Harry, getting close to him. 

_Manic laughter. A flash of green. His mother's scream._

Harry fell to his knees. 

_Cedric's body flying in a flash of bright emerald. Remus lying on the ground. Dobby dead in his arms. Ginny nearly dead on the Chamber floor. Hermione's screams of pain. Dumbledore falling from the Astronomy Tower. Snape bleeding out. Ron pleading for them to stop torturing Hermione. Draco bleeding out on the bathroom floor. James screaming from a nightmare. Albus's cries in his sleep. Lily crying._

"HARRY!" Voices were screaming for him and he could see the looks of horror on the faces of the people he cared about as they crowded the entrance to Hogwarts. The dementors were closing in on him fast. So Harry did something stupid, as was in his nature. He took off running, away from the castle. The dementors followed him. 

Harry's heart was pounding in his head as he ran.  _Must keep them safe. Must keep them safe. Must keep them safe._

Harry was right at the edge of the lake. He could run no further and the dementors were closing in. He looked across the lake where he fought the dementors in his third year at Hogwarts and he clenched his jaw. 

_His children being born. Rocking them to sleep. Seeing his parents again. Laughing with Ron and Hermione. Remus asking him to be Teddy's godfather. Dancing with Hermione at her's and Ron's wedding. Dancing with Ginny at their wedding. Dancing stupidly with Ron at his wedding. Dancing around the house with his children behind him in a conga line. Lily painting his nails and him wearing it for a whole week._

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" The words ripped themselves from his lips without him meaning to and a stag exploded forward from  his wand, held aloft. It plowed into row after row of dementors, pushing them back and back and back. The stag kept pushing until they were out of the valley entirely. Then the stag came back, trotting around him until it came to a rest in front of him, bowing its head slightly, and then it faded. 

Harry fell to his knees. The dementors had drained him and that amount of power for a patronus of that size was even more draining. He heard the thunder of foot steps as people raced toward him but it was Lupin who reached him first. 

"Here." Moony was shoving chocolate under his nose which Harry accepted. He fell back into a sitting position, eating the chocolate slowly, painfully aware of everyone around him. He was becoming increasingly aware of the weight of the many eyes which were on him in that moment. 

"Well, that was exciting." He said after he finished his chocolate. He dusked his hands off and forced a smile. 

He found James among the first row of people who were staring at him. "Those were dementors, to answer a question you once asked me." James nodded, not answering. "Is everyone ok?" 

Someone let out a laugh. "You just produced a patronus charm that large after being attacked by a dementor and you're asking us if we're ok?" Ah, it was Draco. "I knew you had a saving people complex but that's bordering on self sacrificial." 

Harry shrugged. "What can I say? I'm still alive aren't I? Then I'm fine." 

"A stag?" It was his father this time. Harry looked right in the eyes of James Potter, the first James Potter, and nodded his head. 

"A stag." Harry stood as he spoke. 

"Let's let Mr. Potter breathe." Dumbledore's voice echoed as he pushed his way forward. "After that...excitement...I'm sure the last thing he needs is to be stared at." The group began to disperse, leaving only Harry's group left to continue to stare at him. "Harry, perhaps you should consider going to the Hospital Wing." Dumbledore added as an afterthought. 

"I'm fine." He assured Dumbledore. "I just need some water and to sit down for a little." 

Dumbledore eyed him warily before giving up, knowing Harry wasn't going to back down. "Very well then Harry." 

"We should go back to the common room. We can let you in." He added to the non Gryffindors. "I'll meet you all up there. I just want to grab something from the kitchen." 

"I'll go with you." Several people volunteered at once, obviously wary at leaving Harry alone. He waved them off. 

"No. No. I want to go alone. I'll be fine." 

The reluctantly agreed and eventually were heading off to the common room as Harry headed to the kitchen. He wanted to grab some more chocolate, mostly to repay Lupin for the chocolate he had given him. He should probably learn to carry chocolate on him, then again he wasn't exactly expecting dementor attacks at Hogwarts all the time. But what had that been? Harry was so lost in thought he didn't notice when his solitary walk gained a companion. 

"Are you alright?" 

Harry started at the voice, stumbling slightly, but he was caught by a strong hand. Tom stared down at him. 

"Yes. I'm fine." 

Tom looked him over. "You don't look fine. You should go to the Hospital Wing. I can take you." He started to pull at Harry with the hand he still had wrapped around Harry's arm but Harry dug his heals in. 

"I said I'm fine. I just need some water, chocolate, and rest." 

Tom raised a perfectly arched eyebrow. "Chocolate?" 

"It helps." Harry said simply. 

"Heading to the kitchen then?" 

Harry just nodded. 

"I'll go with you." 

"I'm fine on my own, thank you." 

"No you aren't. You can't even walk in a straight line." 

Harry glowered. 

"Once we get to the kitchens and you get what you need, I'll leave you alone." 

Harry huffed, knowing that unlike his friends and family, Tom wasn't going to take no for answer. "Fine."

The two made their way to the kitchen where Harry tickled the pear on the statue and they made their way inside. They were swarmed at once. "Harry Potter! Harry Potter!" Harry couldn't help but notice how they failed to address Tom and he felt a little smug. "What can we do for you sir?" 

"I would just like some chocolate and a glass of water, please."

"Of course sir!" Even though the House elves were paid now, they still addressed everyone as sir or ma'am. Harry sat in a chair as he waited. He got the water first, drinking the first glass down quickly. The elves refilled it and then piled his arms full of chocolate. Tom had been watching him the whole time, his lips pursed. 

Harry stuffed the chocolate in his robe pockets and used an extension charm so he could fit it all. He then grabbed the water and made his way for the door. Tom followed closely behind him. 

"This is where we part ways." Harry said once they were out of the kitchens. 

"I suppose. Though I must ask one thing of you Harry." Was that concern in his voice? "Should you feel worse, you go to the Hospital Wing. Having power, no matter how much, and being invincible doesn't mean that you cannot be injured, severely. I speak from experience." 

Harry swallowed thickly and nodded, not trusting his voice to answer. Was Tom really expressing concern about him and demanding he go to the Hospital Wing if he felt worse?

"Good." Tom turned and left, leaving Harry to stare after him until he disappeared. Harry shook his head, wondering exactly what just happened. 

He made his way to Gryffindor tower, very slowly. 

"Treacle tart." He muttered at the portrait. 

"It is delicious." The portrait answered dejectedly before it swung open. 

His group was waiting for him as he entered. They looked up from were gathered around the fire. It didn't appear as though they had been talking, they had just been sitting there. There was a space left for Harry on the couch. He unload the chocolate from his pocket which everyone seemed very anxious to dig into. He snagged one before looking at them. "Dig in." They did. Remus hung back, which Harry was glad for because he wouldn't have to fight through the crowd around the table to get his attention. He walked up and handed the chocolate to him. "Thank you." His voice was quiet. 

"You're welcome Harry." 

Harry smiled and went to his spot on the couch. Once everyone settled, he looked around. Prongs was sitting in a chair with Prose on his lap. Ron and Hermione were sharing a bench. Fred and George sat with their backs to the fire. James and Lily were sitting on the couch with him and next to the couch on the left sat Albus and Scorpius. Moony sat in the chair to the right of the couch and Padfoot was leaning against his legs. Rose and Hugo sat between Lupin's chair and the couch. 

"So," Ron said, pulling a board out from his robes. "Wizard's chess tournament?" 

"Yes." 

 

 


	5. Complications

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here. Have some Greek mythology.

"You're being a child."

"Well isn't it ironic that I happen to be in the body of an eleven year old?" 

"Oh you are not using that as an excuse for your actions."

"My actions? We're really going to start talking about my actions? How about you're actions?"

"What are we even arguing about?" 

"We're arguing about the fact that you're ignoring how you feel. Denying it."

"It's not that easy..."

"I know it isn't. There are a bunch of other factors here. But that doesn't matter when it comes to how you feel about me. You can't even admit that you feel something. Anything!"

"Ok! You're right."

"Of course I am."

"Oh stop that. I'm trying to speak."

"Well then spit it out already. We haven't got all night."

There was a pause.

"I do have feelings for you..."

"...And?"

"And I'm in love with you." A deep breath. "I have been...for a long time. And then you died and my whole world was ripped apart. I lost everything. Don't you understand that?"

"Of course I understand that." The other spat. "I understand that better than anyone. For a long time all I had to focus on was revenge because I knew that you probably hated me. My two best friends were dead, you hated me, the other was a traitor, and on top of that I couldn't get to Harry when he should have legally been in my custody." There was a brief pause punctuated by a sharp inhale. "My brother was dead. And then I found Peter and he turned out to be as cowardly as ever, framing me for killing him and then I was suddenly carted off to Azkaban. When I finally got my godson back, he was deathly thin and haunted by horrors worse than anything we ever face in the war, constantly being chased by dementors, closed to being Kissed, a fate almost bestowed on me. Then he was forced to duel after being tortured and I could clearly see the haunted look in his eyes when he came back and yet I couldn't talk to him at all during that summer because  _Dumbledore_ didn't want me to. And then I find out after I die that the reason Harry went running to the Ministry was because Voldemort was taunting him with images of me. And on top of that, you were denying me the whole time. I had my heart ripped out because I couldn't look after my godson who I loved like my own son and then it was ripped in another way because I couldn't be with the man I loved. So yes, I completely understand Moony."

Sirius was huffing as he stood looking at Remus. The two were standing in the Forbidden Forest. The night clung to the trees and the air was cool. No clouds were in the sky that night, so every star was visible above them, through the dense canopy. Leaves crunched on the ground as animals walked to and fro, but the pair stood, unmoving, staring at one another. Sirius Black was handsome even as an eleven year old, which was a curse among the Black family. His wavy, black hair was pinned up behind his head, using his wand. His grey eyes had lost their normal softness as he stared into the eyes of the boy across from him. Remus Lupin was a dangling boy. His amber eyes shown in the night, like two harvest moons, bright with their intensity. The moon was only at a quarter tonight, so there was still some time before the full moon sunk its teeth into its prey. Both of their jaws were clenched, their arms folded across their chests. 

"So what do you want me to say, Sirius?" 

"I don't know, Remus." Sirius answered after a pause. "I know you have a son. And I know you have a wife, wherever she is. So I don't know what I want you to say. I don't know what I want to do. I just wanted to know..." He paused, looking away from Remus, swallowing thickly, "I needed to know." 

"Sirius..." Lupin's voice was soft and he took a step toward the other boy, but Sirius stepped back, raising a hand. 

"Don't. Like I said. I just needed to know." Sirius turned on his heal, changing into a black, shaggy dog as he went. The dog ran off, faster than Remus could on two legs, speeding off into the castle. Remus sighed, running a hand through his hair. It was a lot thicker than it had been as an adult. His condition had worn heavily on him through the years, but as child he was able to recuperate easier. 

The werewolf trudged into the castle, his head drooping, his hands in his pockets. He knew he and Sirius would have to be face to face again, hell they slept in the same room. But there was something about it that just tugged at his heart. 

He had been in love with Sirius since they had gone to Hogwarts the first time. He couldn't quite pinpoint the exact time in which he had fallen in love with the rambunctious Black boy, but there was something about him. Sirius had always been rebellious. He let his hair grow to ridiculous lengths, always wearing Muggle band t-shirts, and blasting Muggle music off of his charmed radio. Having his wand pinning up his hair was something he had started doing in his sixth year, which Remus found rather endearing. 

Lupin's footsteps echoed on the stone corridor as he reentered Hogwarts. He wasn't really worried about being caught. They didn't have a curfew or anything, most people just went to bed whenever they felt like it. The only warning was to stay out of the Forbidden Forest, mostly because of the dangers on the grounds were in the forest. Of course that didn't stop them from going in. 

Due to the quietness of the castle, he noticed right away when his footsteps were joined by a second pair. He turned to find Tom Riddle stalking toward him. Remus reached for his wand inside his pocket when Tom held up his hands, showing he wasn't holding a wand. 

"I don't want a fight." His voice was barely above a murmur. 

"What do you want then, Riddle?" Lupin's voice was harsh.

"I just want to talk." 

Remus snorted. "Talking doesn't sound like something pleasant when it comes to you." 

Despite himself, Riddle smiled. It was a genuine smile and it took Lupin by surprise. "I know what you must think of me, and I can't fault you for thinking as such. But I only wish to talk." 

Remus took a step back. "Sorry Riddle, but a nice chat with you alone and in the dark is not my idea of a fun time." 

"I can make it brief. I won't do anything to you. You have my word." 

"Your word doesn't really mean much to me, Riddle." 

Again to Remus's surprise, Riddle's face fell. It must have been a tactic. It all must have. Every move, every word, planned to get a reaction out of him, to garner sympathy from him. Remus eyed Riddle, not wanting to give in but his curiosity was getting the better of him. 

"What is it? Make it quick." 

Riddle paused for a moment, taking in a deep breath. "How do you do it?" 

"Could you be any more vague?"

"How do you handle..." Riddle looked away. "Never mind. Forget I talked with you." Riddle turned on his heal and started toward the dungeons. 

* * *

_Voldemort woke up in an unknown place. His initial analysis was that the area around him was dark and hot, but that did not do his surroundings justice. He looked up to see what appeared to be the mouth of a gorge and he was in the valley. He stood, hearing the undeniable clink of chains as he did. Looking on either side of him he saw two poles, driven into the ground and chains_ _linking the poles to himself. He could only drag his hands to his face, but that was the extent of his reach. Voldemort strained his vision, attempting to see another person, but there was no one within eyesight. The man turned to see a wall of stone directly behind him, he could not move back. In front of him was another stone wall, but he could not reach it because the chains withheld him. The stone appeared to be a deep brown color, very similar to the color of chocolate. Voldemort had never really enjoyed chocolate. The flavor was good enough, but people seemed to enjoy it much more than he did. Above him the sky, or what could be taken for the sky, was a deep red which almost looked black. There were no clouds, no stars, no moon, nothing that made it look like an earthly sky. Over the edge of the cliff above him, Voldemort could swear he saw the lick of flames._

_He tugged at the chains more, attempting to break free. On himself, he wore a long, black robe which covered him from his neck to his feet and down his arms. It even went around down his hands and under the cuffs which linked him to the chains. He pulled some more, trying to break free, but no matter how hard he pulled, they wouldn't budge. He attempted to use his magic to break the cuffs off of his wrists, but he felt a shock run through his body which was the equivalent of being struck by a hundred bolts of lightening. The Dark Lord fell to his knees, his chest heaving in pain. His hands were clutching the chains which held him in attempt to ride out the pain. It subsided eventually and the Dark Lord was able to haul himself back to his feet._

_"Thomas Marvolo Riddle." A voice boomed, rattling the stone walls around him._

Lord Voldemort.  _He thought, scathingly._

 _The voice laughed, hallow and_ _mirthlessly. "We do not abide by such anagrams down here Tom. Can I call you Tom, or would you prefer Mr. Riddle?"_

_"Neither." Voldemort spoke aloud this time._

_"Well you'll have to choose one eventually." The voice continued to rattle the walls of stone, shaking the floor Voldemort was standing on._

_"I do not have to do anything. I am Lord Voldemort. I do not take orders from anyone."_

_The laughter echoed again, this time it was more menacing. "You think I care about your little powers mortal? You think you can scare me? You think your little act of terror in Britain is enough to frighten me? You aren't even worthy of being a bug under my shoe." The voice paused for a moment before continuing. "I'm certain by now you've figured out what your robe does."_

_The robe had begun to move, like liquid tar, swimming around his body._

_"A magic suppressant." Voldemort answered._

_"Very good." The voice purred. "You do have some semblance of intelligence."_

_"Don't insult me." Voldemort snarled._

_"And you don't interrupt me!" The voice boomed. This time chunks of rock fell from the wall, crashing to the cavern floor._

I must be dreaming.  _Voldemort thought to himself._ That's all this is, a very interesting dream.

_"Oh this is no dream, I can assure you."_

_"Get out of my head." Voldemort seethed, attempting to seal off his thoughts._

_"Oh my dear Tom, you cannot hide your thoughts from me. You cannot hide anything from me."_

_"So who are you?" Voldemort asked, conversationally._

_"I think you know who I am Tom. Perhaps you should use the considerable knowledge you pride yourself on to figure it out."_

_"Oh great, a riddle."_

_"I thought you were the Riddle here."_

_"Where am I?" Voldemort tried again._

_"I think you can figure that out too."_

_"What am I doing here?" He was beginning to get annoyed now._

_"Ah. Now you're asking the good questions. But alas, I cannot tell you that either. Though you will figure that out within a few moments time."_

_Voldemort snarled. "You are more infuriating than Dumbledore."_

_The voice laughed again, this more it was more jovial. "Dumbledore. Oh how I enjoy that man."_

_"Of course you would." Voldemort rolled his eyes. "Can you at least give me a hint? Even a more complicated riddle?" His voice had taken on a sweet tone, trying to pry the information out anyway he knew how._

_"Oh Tom, you're sweet on me. But very well. I will give you a hint, since you asked me so kindly." The voice paused._

_Voldemort waited and just when he was about to demand, across the floor on the wall writing appeared._

_ Take a deep breath. _

_ Allow me to explain. _

_ Right where you are. I have you now, for _

_ The rest of eternity. _

_ Above you is a black sky, you'll see it forever. _

_ Right where I want you. _

_ Understand me know, you'll never escape. _

_ See if you can solve my riddle, of where you'll spend the rest of your days. _

_Riddle stared writing, trying to figure out what exactly it meant. He often prided himself on his ability to problem solve, but this made absolutely no sense to him. He stared and stared, cocking his head this way and that, attempting to figure out exactly what it was stating. It made no sense when applied to anything from the wizarding world. So he tried again, thinking of what he knew of the Muggle world, but still nothing he could think of made any sense to him._

I'm in my own personal hell and I can't figure out a riddle.  _He thought to himself bitterly._

_"You're getting warmer." The voice crooned._

_He sighed, looking at the riddle again. He could see the letters, all lined up neatly in a row. He dropped his eyes, looking at the ground, trying to relax his strained eyes. Then it suddenly came to him. The first letters, were all lined up neatly in a row._

_T. A. R. T. A. R. U. S._

_"_ _Tartarus." He breathed out._

_"Very good Tom!" The voice boomed. "Tell me what you know of Greek mythology."_

_Greek mythology? Voldemort wracked his brain. Tartarus was where the sons of Kronos banished their father after they chopped him to pieces. It was reserved for the worst of offenders. Most people were judged to be in the Fields of Asphodel where they just stood until their souls eventually faded. They forgot who they were entirely. Then there was Elysium, where the truly good went. People like Harry Potter ended up there. And then there was Tartarus, for the truly wicked and wretched. They were bound there for eternal punishment. For people like...him._

_"Very good Tom." The voice crooned again._

_"If I'm in Tartarus that means that I'm..." Voldemort trailed off, swallowing thickly._

_"Dead?" The voice offered. "Indeed. Condolences." There was a brief pause. "Well, best not cry over spilled milk." The voice was rather cheerful._

_"If I'm in Tartarus, who are you?" Voldemort asked, genuinely curious._

_"Did you think that the name just came from no where?"_

_"You're Tartarus?" Voldemort asked incredulously._

_"Indeed I am Tom. Now, let us get onto more pressing matters."_

_Voldemort swallowed thickly. He really was dead._

_"As you know, this is a place for punishment, eternal punishment, and you have been lucky enough to earn yourself a spot here. So, let us get down to it, shall we?"_

_Voldemort snorted. It was not a very dignified sound, but he didn't really care at the moment. "And what punishment would you like to bestow upon me? Torture? Perhaps forcing me to relive my life and watch every mistake I made? Or listen to Dumbledore rant on and on about love." He sneered. "There is nothing you can do to me that I cannot handle."_

_Tartarus laughed again. It sounded like a full bellied laugh, like he was genuinely entertained with Voldemort. "Oh Tom. There are several things in which I can do to you. But none of the things you listed." Tartarus paused. "No, you are going to spend the first part of your existence here watching your failure."_

_"Wha-" Voldemort began but he was quickly cut off when an image appeared in front of him. The image grew in color until it was a bright as daylight and eventually, Voldemort figured out it was daylight._

_His eyes adjusted to the sudden intensity of the light he was staring at. When he was able to look without being blinded, he searched the scene. It was clearly the grounds of Hogwarts, right next to the Black Lake. There were very few people out and about, most seemed to be up at the castle itself, dealing with the carnage. It must have been just after the battle, if not the very next day. A boy with messy black hair and bright green eyes was lying in the grass. His shirt was off and he only wore a pair off faded jeans which were rolled up. His shoes sat next to him with his socks stuffed inside and his feet were wet. He had clearly waded into the lake and was now lying in the sun, allowing his feet to dry off as well as letting the sun soak into his skin._

_"Harry Potter." Voldemort sneered._

_In the sunlight it was easy to see every scar from every battle the boy had been in, which was quite a significant amount considering the boy was only seventeen. Voldemort knew many of those scars, he had been the cause of them, but there were some that he was never aware of. Another thing he was never aware of was how thin the boy really was. He could have been death itself with how little was actually on his body. He had lean muscles for sure, most likely due to his excessive Quidditch expertise, but he barely had enough meat on his bones. A strong wind could have probably carried Harry James Potter away._

_"So this is my punishment?" Voldemort yelled. "To stare at this boy?"_

_It was actually rather creepy if one thought about it too much. Having the Dark Lord stare at Harry Potter for all hours of the day, seeing his every move. But Voldemort knew otherwise. It was meant for him to watch his failure. On several occasions he had tried and failed to kill the Potter boy. Harry lived and Lord Voldemort was chained inside a cavern, doomed to watch the epitome of the power he hated the most walk free on earth. Voldemort feared death above all else, yet here he was, dead, while the object of his hatred was allowed to roam free. To live. To_ love.  _And did anyone ever love like Harry Potter did. The brightest star and the hottest sun could not compare to the amount of love that coursed through the veins of Harry James Potter. It was love that defeated Voldemort, in the end. Love. The power which he thought was powerless. And yet, Harry lived. He did not._

* * *

Tom thought about the afterlife he had lived. Eventually he sidetracked himself, running into Remus Lupin the entrance hall. He hadn't known exactly where he was going. Yet he was heading somewhere. His feet were taking him to some destination. 

After the conversation with Lupin, he retreated to the dungeons, trying desperately to forget what he had just been about to ask the werewolf. 

In the case of werewolves, Remus Lupin was the most sophisticated of the bunch. He had dealt with his condition well, handling it with more grace than anyone else. Fenrir had become a rabid animal with his condition and Tom loathed that man. He would have gladly taken him out of the equation a long time ago had he not been so useful. As far as he knew, Fenrir was locked tightly in Azkaban. 

Tom smashed his palms into his eyes, hoping the pain in his head would digress with the pain he was inflicting upon his eyes. It made no difference. 

Idly, he wondered how Harry was doing. As far as he knew, the head of the Potter house hadn't made a trip to the Hospital Wing, but that didn't mean that he was doing fine. Tom knew Harry, possibly better than anyone else did. He had seen inside the boy's mind before he died and then watched him afterward. Doomed for the rest of his existence to watch the life of Harry James Potter. He knew every quirk Harry had. He knew how he tried to see without his glasses and would get so frustrated he would huff and push his glasses on his face until his nose hurt. He knew that Harry would subconsciously reach for the scar on his left arm when he saw a graveyard. He knew that the boy always rubbed his blunger broken arm whenever he saw a picture of Gilderoy Lockhart. He knew that Potter would rub his lightening scar subconsciously, waiting for it to hurt again. He knew the boy still had nightmares where he would hear his voice, echoing inside his head. 

Tom knew Harry better than anyone. So he knew when he was magically drained. Tom himself had felt slightly drained after the dementor attack, as if Harry had leeched some magic from him in order to keep the patronus going. It was a hard enough to being with, with that many dementors flying around. But to push them out of the valley entirely? That took real power. Tom himself couldn't have done it, and he had a considerable amount of power. If he couldn't have done it, and he and Harry Potter were equal on the power scale, then there was no way that Harry could have done it alone. 

The only question was, how exactly was he able to take some magic from Tom in order to be able to help him? 

During his thought process was once again side tracked when he noticed he was on a balcony. The night are swept by him and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief with his pounding head. He assumed it was a side effect of having part of your magic used unwillingly, though he had never experienced something like it before, so he was not exactly sure. He had found, over the past few years, that there were a great many things he was not quite sure of anymore. 

Being in Tartarus had changed him, in more ways than anyone knew. His Death Eaters had come running back to him in fear, and he played the part convincingly, but he didn't actually order them to do anything. It had been two days since this whole ordeal started and not one person had been attacked. Only Bellatrix had seemed upset about it. She was as bloodthirsty as always. From what he understood, she had been locked in Azkaban the whole time, driven even more insane in solitary confinement, hearing her own screams bounce off the walls. 

Now honestly, Bellatrix disgusted him. That was why he offered her so willingly to Harry. He was hoping that maybe Harry would do his job, take care of a dark witch. But Harry had been reluctant, thinking it was a trick or a trap. He couldn't blame him. He couldn't blame anyone. They all distrusted him and he had earned that distrust. But he was not the same man he had been when he died. Oh he played the part, he was a brilliant actor, always had been. But he didn't feel it. Deep inside him, he didn't feel the part anymore. A large part of him just wanted to give up the charade. 

* * *

Lupin returned to the room he shared with James and Sirius. He could clearly see through the curtain of James's bed that there were two people there, their sleeping forms closely entangled. Remus smiled to himself. James and Lily had always been everything he wanted his relationships to be. They were amazing and happy together. Oh sure they bickered, playfully but they were still madly in love.

Remus had been in love with Tonks. Still was. He would always love her. But there was always something different with his love with Sirius. It felt deeper. It burned in his heart and churned in his stomach. It boiled through his blood and thrummed in his head. When Sirius died, it felt like Remus's heart was ripped out of his chest, thrown onto the ground, and set on fire. He had watched Harry react very similar to how he himself wanted to act. Harry had run toward the veil in which Sirius fell through and only one thought came to the forefront of Remus's mind. 

_Not Harry too. Not Harry too. Not Harry too._

He couldn't lose both Harry and Sirius in one night. Sirius was the love of his life and Harry was as good as his son. To lose both of them...the pain would be unbearable. 

Remus lied down on his bed, closing the curtains around him. He pulled the covers over himself, wondering exactly what the conversation in the hall was about earlier. But it made no sense to him, just about as much sense as his current debacle with Sirius. He loved Sirius. And he loved Tonks. But Tonks wasn't here. Tonks was dead. Yet it still felt...wrong. 

Lupin didn't know what to do. There were too many complications. 

He closed his eyes, hoping to get some sleep, when he heard the undeniable slide of curtains,  _his_ curtains, moving aside. His eyes flew open and he saw Sirius standing there. He pressed his finger to his lips and slid inside the curtains shutting them. Lupin shifted over and Sirius lowered himself onto the bed, careful not to let it creak as he did. 

"I know how you feel." Sirius whispered to him. "And I'm not trying to rush you into anything. But for now, can't we just enjoy...this?"

Remus swallowed thickly before pulling his blankets over Sirius. 

"Thank you." Sirius whispered. 

"Goodnight Padfoot."

"Goodnight Moony." 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is so short. The next one will be longer I promise.


	6. The Lion and the Snake

"What do you think of Harry Potter?" Godric was lounging on a chair in his study. Salazar wasn't the only one who had hidden rooms in the castle. Godric's study and sleeping quarters were carefully hidden, tucked away behind the Gryffindor common rooms. None one knew about them, not the students, not the teachers. Only the other founders knew where each of their living quarters had been. Of course none of the founders had known where Salazar's Chamber of Secrets was. But Godric knew very well where Salazar's quarters were, just like Salazar knew where Godric's quarters were. They spent an awful lot of time together, in each other's quarters. Godric had his feet propped up on an ottoman, hit boots clanking together every now and then when he tapped his feet to fill the silence. The chair he sat in was red, much like everything else in the room. The most out of place thing was Salazar, ever in his green robes. Godric wore a gold t-shirt today, a pair of jeans, and a pair of black boots. The gold t-shirt bore a red lion and once again, the shirt seemed like it was stretched to the max across his muscled chest. Every flex of his arms seemed like it would bust the seams on the sleeves. His deep brown eyes were fixed on the silver headed man in front of him, the oddity of green in his red, red world. It was night now, the Sunday before the tests were about to begin. 

Godric had walked around the grounds earlier in the day, taking in Hogwarts. It hadn't changed since he and the others originally designed it. He was just rounding the corner from the edge by the forest when the dementors invaded the grounds. He had to admit he was impressed with the size of the patronus charm that Harry had produced. He had never seen one that big or last for that long. He hadn't been pushed inside when the dementors came, in fact no one had noticed that he was still outside. Though that largely had to do with the fact that he had cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself, so no one could see him. Even the dementors avoided him. So he had just watched. Though he had to admit that the boy's bravery and recklessness, a trait common amongst Gryffindors, was bordering on blatant stupidity. The boy really did have a saving people complex. And yes, he was a boy. Godric was over a thousand years old. Everyone else seemed rather...young. 

Salazar stood tensely, his hands folded behind his back. "Harry Potter?" He questioned. His voice was as smooth as silk. Godric nodded. "I think he is a vastly talented boy with a lot of magic. I think he's strong, brave bordering on stupid, reckless, passionate, and full of a love more powerful than any I've ever seen, which is saying something considering I've seen plenty." He paused, rocking on his feet for a moment. "But he's troubled, haunted. He thinks very little of himself. He has what the Muggles call post traumatic stress disorder. As well as a severe inferiority complex." 

Godric snorted from where he sat. "Take a Muggle psychology class did you, Sally?" 

Salazar eyed him, "As a matter of fact, I have gone to a Muggle college."

Godric raised an eyebrow at him. 

Salazar huffed. "Oh Godric you and I both know that my problem was never with Muggles or muggleborns in general." Salazar finally sat down in the chair directly across from Godric. "It was that our kind was being hunted. We could have died Godric. We built this school for a reason, to keep the children safe and out of the way while they honed their craft. I was worried. I was...afraid. Oh don't look at me like that." Godric had rolled his eyes. "Some of us have the sense to understand that fear is a natural human reaction. Anyway," The silver headed man continued, "I was just worried that having muggleborns in the school would cause Muggles to find us and hunt us." 

Godric looked over Salazar. The other sat with his elbows on his knees, his hands folded, and his chin resting on his hands. "Sal," Everyone knew that Godric called Salazar Sally, it was only Godric who could call him that, but Sal was reserved for when it was just the two of them, "I could have protected you." Godric's voice was barely above a whisper. Salazar's hands dropped and a sad smile grew on his face. 

"I know." Salazar answered quietly. 

The two stared at one another for a moment more before Godric turned away. "Your family grew rather large, stayed for a long time." His voice was conversational, but his eyes showed a different story. 

"Godric," Salazar began but Godric cut him off. 

"You know that I waited for you right? I waited for you to come back. I didn't..." He swallowed. "But then Rowena and Helga left to have families of their own, I still don't know what happened there." He added additionally. "But then I heard you had a family. I...I tried to move on, I really did. I had a wife and a son. But then my wife died and my son, he went to travel the world. So I came back to Hogwarts. He eventually settled down and had a family of his own. I was...alone. So I stayed in the lake. In my animagus form."

Godric paused, swallowing his pain and Salazar snatched the chance to speak. "The Giant Squid?"

Godric nodded. "The Giant Squid. I left here and there, traveling around the world. I have to say that my favorite invention was jeans and the t-shirt. They are much more comfortable than robes." Salazar laughed at this. "But I was still alone. I didn't know if you were alive, I didn't know if Helga or Rowena were alive. Come to find out you all were. And here I was, still at the school. I fought in the Battle of Hogwarts too, you know. I fought with them. I didn't go inside, I just kept to myself and cleaned up the mess outside. But I was still here. When I heard about your chamber, five years before the Battle of Hogwarts, I had to admit that part of me was excited. I was hoping that maybe, just maybe I could find a piece of you to hold onto. But you used Parseltongue so only our heir could get in. Brilliant in all reality, but it meant that I couldn't get in." 

Salazar had been watching Godric while he spoke. Godric's voice had stayed steady, somehow, despite the emotional speak he was delivering and he hadn't shed a single tear. But his eyes betrayed how hurt he really felt. Godric's feet had dropped off the ottoman and he pushed himself further back in the chair as if he were trying to become the chair. Salazar moved, sitting on the ottoman in front of Godric. He placed a hand on Godric's leg and Godric finally looked back at him. 

"I'm sorry I left. I just got frustrated and I couldn't handle it. I couldn't handle seeing you angry at me." Salazar was pleading with the other to understand. 

"I wasn't...angry exactly. I just..." Godric trailed off with a sigh. 

"Can we start over?" Salazar asked after a moment of uncomfortable silence. "I mean I know that it's been so easy to fall back into our patterns from before but that's in public. I mean just you and me. Can we start over?" 

Godric nodded. "I think I'd like that."

Salazar smiled and sat up more, sticking his hand out. "Hi, I'm Salazar. Salazar Slytherin." Godric took his hand. "Godric Gryffindor." 

"It's nice to meet you, Godric."

"It's nice to meet you too, Salazar." 

The two grinned at one another, their hands dropping between the two of them, still linked. Godric looked down at their joined hands, his index finger running over the back of Salazar's hand. Salazar watched him, wondering what exactly the other man was thinking. Godric was still looking down when he spoke again. 

"So how does this work? Starting again."

"Honestly?" He waited until the brunet looked up again, "I don't know." 

Godric dazzled him with a smile. "I guess we are on the same page with something then." Godric's finger was still running over the back of Salazar's hand. 

"You're not letting go." Salazar said after a moment. 

"Astute observation. Neither are you." 

"It's because I don't want to."

"Neither do I." 

Godric searched Salazar's eyes, trying to figure out what the other was thinking. Salazar stared back at him, his eyes never leaving Godric's. "God damnit." Godric muttered as he suddenly used his free hand to pull the other forward, their lips meeting in a rather gentle kiss despite the rough action that preceded it. Godric had his hand around Salazar's neck, his other gripping Salazar's hand tightly. Salazar's free hand moved and gripped Godric's bicep. The need for air separated them but they stayed close, their foreheads pressed together. 

"Did you just refer to yourself in vain before you kissed me?" Salazar teased. Godric rolled his eyes before he hauled the other man into his lap. Salazar went willingly, straddling Godric's legs as he did. Godric still didn't answer Salazar's question as he lifted his head to kiss Salazar again. The two of them sat there for a moment more, kissing. Godric's arms came around Salazar and the silver haired man held the larger man's face. Godric pushed off the robe which fell with a loud thud on the floor. 

"Always with the heavy clothing." Gryffindor muttered against the other's lips. Salazar wore a green button up shirt and a pair of black slacks underneath. He was incredibly well put together, which made Godric laugh. The green shirt was tight across his chest. "And you say I wear tight stuff." 

"That's because you do." 

Salazar was all lean muscle where as Godric was not. The bulk of Godric was perfectly complimented by Salazar.

Salazar seemed hesitant, so Godric pulled back. "We don't have to do anymore." He pushed a stray hair that fell in Salazar's face out of the way. "I will never do anything that you don't want me to." 

Salazar looked down at Godric, searching his face. "I know. You are so chivalrous. But that's not why I'm hesitating." 

"Then why are you?" 

Sal ran his hand through the brunet hair of the man beneath him. His eyes trailed over the other's muscular form, taking in every bit he could see. "Because I don't want to go too fast."

Godric smiled at the comment before he picked up Salazar, moving the two of them over toward the bed. They fell, Salazar first, onto the bright red sheets. One of Godric's hands ran through silver hair. "I always loved your hair." He kissed the other's forehead, going down his jawline, and settling on his neck. The other moved so brunet could have more access to his neck which he took full advantage off, attacking the sensitive flesh there, kissing and biting. Salazar let out a throaty moan before raising his hand into Godric's hair again. "I've loved your hair too. It looks brunet, but I always see red. My own little hot head." Godric's tongue slid across his lover's neck before sucking a purple mark into the flesh there. Pulling back to admire his work, he set out on the buttons of the green shirt, undoing them painfully slow. He spread the fabric, not taking it off, just gaining access to the other's chest. Godric then kissed around his collarbone, moving down his chest, and attaching himself to one of the flesh buds there. Salazar moaned, his back arching slightly. He then trailed kisses down the other's stomach, stopping just above the edge of his pants to move back upward, reclaiming his lips. 

Salazar pushed up into Godric, running a hand over Godric's side. Godric rested his hand on Salazar's hip. Salazar was lying on his back, his right hand on resting on Godric's cheek and his left stroking Godric's side. Godric was propped up on one hip, his body pressed against Salazar's. Silver hair tangled with reddened brunet and their breath mixed. Their whole world was taken over with one another. Godric held sat up swiftly, reached behind his head, and pulled his shirt off, tossing it to the side. He lied back down next to Salazar, about to reclaim his mouth when Salazar pushed him aside, sitting up to fully take off his own shirt. He lied back down, pulling the other on top of him. Godric wrapped his arms around Salazar, holding the other underneath him. Salazar's arms came around him, his fingers finding purchase on Godric's shoulders. The two men ground against one another, their hips bucking. Godric kissed Salazar, his tongue running over Sal's lips in an unspoken question. Salazar's lips parted, allowing Godric entry. Godric explored around the edges before enticing Salazar's own tongue into a battle for control,w which Godric quickly won. 

The two men ground against one another for a moment more before Godric's hand slipped down and undid the button on Salazar's pants, sliding inside. Salazar keened, his hips bucking upwards even more. He stroked the bulge which had formed inside Salazar's boxers as Salazar let out throaty moans which were quickly swallowed by Godric's eager kisses. After a few more seconds of what Salazar felt was pure torture, Godric removed his hand and pulled away from the kiss. 

"Hey, Sal." 

"What Godric?"

"Your pants are looking mighty empty, mid if I, Slytherin?"

Salazar smacked Godric on the shoulder sending the other into a fit of laughter above him. 

"You know, I thought you were done using my last name as your cheesy pick up lines." 

"Never." 

Godric sat up again, moving down the bed in order to pull Salazar's pants off in one swift jerk. Godric hovered above Salazar to kiss him again before giving a playful snap at Salazar's boxers. Salazar laughed against Godric's lips. The two of them had always been comfortable around one another, comfortable enough to be able to laugh during sex. Godric pulled back from the kiss again, waggling his eyebrows at Salazar before he moved down the other's body, pulling off his boxers and discarding them in favor of the sight he now had. Godric slid his tongue over Salazar's hard length, his eyes glued to Salazar's face. Salazar's eyes were shut, his lips parted in pleasure. The brunet kissed the tip of Salazar's hard member before taking him entirely in his mouth and hallowing his cheeks. Salazar moaned, trying not to buck his hips upwards. As if reading his mind, Godric placed his hands on Salazar's hips, kneading the skin there and bobbing his head up and down. Salazar moaned again, one hand gripping the sheets and the other fisted in Godric's hair. Had he been younger and less experienced, he wouldn't have been able to hold himself together. But eventually, Godric seemed satisfied with the tizzy he'd worked his lover into. 

Godric shifted up more and before he could do anything else, Salazar caught his hand, looking at Godric straight in his eyes. Godric watched as Salazar sucked on Godric's fingers, throughly wetting them. Godric lied on his side once more, retaking Salazar's mouth and proceeding to slide his fingers inside the other. Salazar's back arched when Godric hit the sensitive bundle of nerves and Godric attacked it, ruthlessly, enjoying the sound of Salazar's moans escaping into his mouth. Salazar didn't need as much prep work as he had in the beginning, they knew one another. Granted it had been some time, but Godric knew how far he could push his lover...and how far he couldn't. 

Godric eventually removed his fingers when he noticed that Salazar was on the brink of release. Salazar grumbled in incoherent distress, but Godric merely smirked. He rolled to the side, discarding the rest of his own clothing before settling himself between Salazar's legs. He set himself up and once Salazar felt Godric tease at his entrance, he bucked his hips upward. "Patience love. You said you wanted to take it slow."

Salazar opened his eyes just to glare at Godric. "Slow. Not torture."

Godric laughed as he slid himself inside Salazar, buried to the hilt. "Better?"

"Mmm." Was Salazar's only answer. Godric began to move, sliding his hips back and forth. Salazar bucked up against him, the two of them moving utterly in sync. Godric shuddered as he pushed into the other man. He buried his face in the crook of Salazar's neck, feeling his own hot breath bounce back against his face. Salazar's hands gripped his back, kissing his shoulder, nipping at his skin. 

"Godric." Salazar whispered. 

"Salazar?"

"Don't let me go." 

Godric's arms tightened around the other man. "Never. Just don't leave me."

"Never again."

Their voices were quickly stolen from them as they progressed in their movements. Salazar's nails dug into Godric's back, leaving half moon shape marks. Salazar couldn't hold on any longer, painting their stomachs with white. Godric wasn't far behind after feeling Salazar's walls tighten around him and his voice whisper Godric's name like a reverent prayer. Godric buried his face in the crook of Salazar's neck, moaning and shuddering. 

They sat there for a moment, breathing heavily before Godric pulled back to push a chaste kiss against Salazar's lips. He pulled out and snapped his fingers, cleaning them both up quickly. He looked over the other man, eyeing him. "You look good in red. You should wear it more." Salazar ran a hand through his hair. "Only if you wear green more." 

Godric laughed before getting up off the bed and walking to the closet. He opened it and pulled out a green t-shirt with a silver snake wound around a gold lion. "Tomorrow. Wear that." Salazar said as he propped himself up on one elbow. "Yes sir. Boy you sure are bossy."

Salazar shrugged. "It's one of my many redeeming qualities." 

"I think you mean annoying ones." Godric muttered as he put the shirt back in his closet. He walked back over to the bed and dropped himself next to Salazar. "So what now?"

"I think sleep. Tomorrow is a big day." 

Godric grumbled as he pulled the blankets over the two of them, snapping his fingers so the lights would go off. Salazar turned on his side to face Godric. "Gimme." He muttered as he pulled Godric's arm under his head to use as a pillow. 

"Again I say, bossy."

He pulled Salazar closer, draping his arm over him and ducking the other's head under his chin. They fell asleep tangled together. 

* * *

The first thing Harry noticed Monday morning was Godric's green t-shirt. On it was a silver snake wound around a gold lion, not like it was attacking it, but like they were allies. He thought idly of a chimera, except the snake on the chimera was the tail. He shrugged to himself and continued to sip his tea, wondering exactly what the shirt was all about. Salazar came in a few minutes later, dressed quite differently than normal. He wore a pair of black slacks, dress shoes, and a tight fitting green t-shirt. It took him turning his head just the right way for Harry to night the purple mark on Salazar's neck which he choked on his tea after noticing. 

"Harry!" Hermione's shrill exclamation made him look away from Salazar and toward her. "Are you ok?" He nodded, wiping his face as he did. 

"Yes. Yes I'm alright." 

Hermione looked him over for a moment more before she went back to lecturing their entire section of Gryffindor table. "So, as I was saying, the theoretical portions are this week with the practical portions next week. Of course the Gryffindors and the Slytherins had to be paired together for all the tests." She muttered bitterly. "Today is Defense Against the Dark Arts. It's right after lunch. Oh I do hope I do well."

Harry nearly choked on his tea again. "Do well Hermione? You've got to be joking." Having written the test, he knew Hermione would do just fine. He and Snape had talked about the practical applications portion in great detail well into the night on Saturday before Dumbledore sent them all away and the written portion Harry practically knew by heart from having rewritten it so many times. "You'll do fine. You're the queen of tests." 

Hermione shook her head, her bushy hair shaking as she did. "Yes but what if I don't do as well. I don't deal with dark arts as often as you and Ron do." 

Ron patted her hand soothingly. "You'll be fine Hermione. You and I both know you're jumping at the chance to take a test again." 

Hermione gave a shy smile and before she could say more, they were suddenly being shooed out of the Great Hall in order to prepare for the tests. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were taking the test before lunch and the Gryffindors and Slytherins after lunch. 

"I'll see you all later." Harry said to them as Snape came sweeping into the hall, looking as bat like as ever. 

"Aren't you coming Harry?" Ron asked. 

"What's Snivellus doing here? Don't tell me that idiot is teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts." James muttered bitterly before Harry could answer. 

"No. I am not coming. And," Harry squared his father, "Yes he is teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts and administering the test that  _I_ helped him write. It's about time you got over your petty little issues with him. It's in the past. Do you have a problem with that?" 

James looked at his son incredulously. "You wrote-"

"I said do you have a problem with that?" Harry demanded, his voice low but firm. 

"No." James answered after a quiet moment. 

"You?" Harry asked, looking at Sirius. 

"No." Sirius raised his hands defensively. 

"Good. I'll see you in here for the test after lunch. I have to help with it since I helped write it. Now out. All of you." Harry turned on his heal and stalked toward the front of the room where the founders and Snape stood. Snape, who had been previously banishing tables and adding in desks for the exam, stopped to look at him. 

"I misjudged you. When you first came to Hogwarts." He said in a quiet voice, his black eyes never leaving Harry's face. 

"At least you can admit it." Harry muttered, pulling out his own wand to help. "But I've already told you that I've forgiven you for the things that you did. But I'm not the only one you need to ask forgiveness of." Harry turned without saying another word and began to work. 

The founders stood silently, watching the interaction and the job was over quickly. Soon the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws entered and the exam began. Harry walked between the rows, not really paying much attention to what was going on in the seats. The test seemed to take forever, though that could have been because Harry was not actually doing anything but watching people take a test which seemed much more tedious than taking the test to begin with. Eventually lunch rolled around but Harry wasn't feeling hungry. Lunch was being held outside that day, luckily it was bright and sunny with only a slight breeze, but Harry stayed inside in the Great Hall alone. 

Or at least, that was his plan. 

His peace was disrupted when Riddle walked in, looking like he too could use some alone time. 

"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't realize anyone else was in here. I just wanted to be alone. I can leave." Tom made for the door when Harry stopped him. 

"Did you just say 'I'm sorry'?" 

Tom looked over at him, his obsidian eyes searching Harry's face. "Yes, I suppose I did." Then he heaved a sigh and sat down in a desk not that far from Harry. "I don't know how long I can keep pretending." His voice was still like velvet, but it lost the sharp, menacing tone behind it that it normally had. 

"Pretending?" Harry questioned. 

Tom nodded. "Pretending like I'm the same person I was when I died. I'm not. I haven't been that person for a long time. Things have changed. I've changed. I'm not Lord Voldemort anymore. That was just a stupid anagram I came up with when I was twelve because I resented my Muggle father." Riddle ran a hand through his hair. "I don't want to live like this, spending my whole life having people follow me around afraid of me. Or worse, there's Bellatrix." Tom looked disgusted when he said her name. "I was hoping you would do your job the other day, when I offered her up to you. I don't have the heart to do anything to her. In fact if anything I understand her better now. But..." Tom trailed off. "Look I don't expect you to ever forgive me for what I've done. For what I've taken from you. For what I've caused you. I've done horrible, unspeakable things. And for that I am really, truly sorry." There was more emotion in Tom's eyes than Harry had ever seen displayed in the entirety of Tom Riddle's existence. "I know I don't deserve a second chance or your forgiveness. But if you'd be willing, I'd really like a chance to earn your trust."

Tom looked at Harry pleadingly and Harry wanted to give in. He wanted to give Tom a second chance. He remembered his promise to Myrtle, to try to help Tom, to save him from becoming Voldemort again but something was holding him back. 

"How do I know that this isn't some elaborate trap? Just draw me in and the torture me in the worst way possible." 

Tom folded his hands in front of him and looked down and in that moment, Harry thought Tom looked rather small. 

"You don't." 

 


	7. Chapter Seven, Time for Quidditch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok I stole the inspiration of the chapter name from Supernatural. If you watch it, you know the episode I'm talking about. Season Seven, Time for a Wedding. I am having way too much fun writing chapter titles. I swear I try to be serious but I just end up being Sirius. (Get it?)
> 
> I'm sorry. 
> 
> Anyway, there is no set date for when all of this occurs story wise but it is fairly recent (like 2016-17 area) so I put in some pop culture references.

Harry understood why there was a department in the Ministry of Magic called Misuse of Muggle Artifacts and he thought that Ron's father had been seriously underpaid for his work there. Magic and Muggle items did not mix well, or easily. Out of all of Harry's children, Lily had been the most different. She was the shyest of the three, but she was also the most strong-minded. Harry didn't really mind, it made for a lot of very interesting conversations, and a lot of time spent trying to charm Muggle items so that they would work with a lot of magic around, such as when she eventually went off to Hogwarts. 

The Potters had a TV in their house as well as a couple computers and each member of the household had a cellphone. Harry had to admit that there was a stroke of genius in the cellphone. It was even quicker than communicating any way in the magical world, including via patronus. Harry picked up on how to use it the fastest, most likely due to the fact that he had lived in the Muggle world before knowing about his true heritage and therefore had grown up around phones. He just didn't know that they had become more convenient. Then came the advent of texting. His children never called after that. Everything was always sent via a text. They were not allowed to take their phones to Hogwarts, however. That was the only rule with their cellphones. It just seemed too risky. Lily had become enchanted with Muggle items, more enchanted than Arthur Weasley, which was saying something. Her enchantment eventually led to her spending hours on the internet. Harry warned her that as long as she was responsible and promised never to give her information to anyone, he wouldn't look over her shoulder at what she was doing. She promised. As it was, Lily shared everything with Harry anyway and they both became engrossed in several TV shows, specifically from America. 

America never interested Harry. Ginny had mentioned going there once or twice, once on their honeymoon and then again as a vacation mostly to see what the magical community was like across the pond; but they had never gone. But the boys and Ginny weren't interested in Lily's shows and Harry didn't want her to watch them alone. So they watched them together. Eventually it led to an abundance of movies and obsessions that the two of them shared, including over music. Harry would take Lily to go see the new movies in a series when it came out. They were both especially enthralled with  _The Avengers_ and the series that revolved around it, both of them jumping at the chance to watch the next movie. Harry had t-shirts hidden in the back of his closet reserved specifically for when they would go watch the next movie in the series. Then Lily heard about another set of movies by the same studio, Marvel, and the two of them quickly became wrapped in the  _X-Men_ universe. Harry was happy to have something that just he and Lily could share. The two of them would talk for hours about the movies, much to the annoyance of James and Albus who didn't understand their fascination. Ginny would tease Harry, but Harry eventually drew her into some things, as well. The thing that made everything easier to cope with, was being in the magical world. They knew the difference between what was real and what was not. Lily was more likely to have a bad dream about a dark wizard coming after her than a ghost or a zombie. Harry had never forgiven, and probably would never forgive, Lily for getting him hooked on  _The Walking Dead._ That show made his head spin. But the show that really caught their attention, all of their attentions, was  _Supernatural._ Mostly because of the hilarity of how wrong it was. They had a great story line and Harry felt like he traveled America without ever leaving his living room, but ghosts weren't out to hurt people, poltergeists were more obnoxious than anything (thank you Peeves), and werewolves didn't devour human hearts. 

The show however, had done wonders for changing Lily's musical taste and Lily quickly became obsessed with music from all over the world. This proved a little bit of a problem. Harry didn't want Lily to be distracted from her school work, which is why he and Ginny had agreed not to allow their children to take their cellphones to Hogwarts, but music was a different story. It seemed like cruel and unusual punishment to deny someone music. So Harry tried to come up with a plan. 

It took the combined efforts of Harry, Ginny, and Hermione to charm the radio in which Lily could use, even at Hogwarts. It was a fairly simple devise, just a standard radio, but it was charmed so as to play all of Lily's favorite songs. Every now and then it would play a new song which fit into the selection of songs that Lily had chosen and if Lily liked it, she needed to only tap the radio once with her wand and if she didn't, she just needed to tap it twice and the song would go away. If she did nothing, the song would come up again at another time just to see if she enjoyed it and if she still did nothing it wouldn't play anymore. Lily's musical taste became a wide variety that not even Hermione could classify. It ranged across several genres and languages. Harry didn't mind. Several times Lily had turned the radio up to full blast on a fun song and she, Harry, James, and Albus would dance around the house. Ginny had several pictures of them doing so. At one point James had wanted to form a band based off of their incoherent singing in the kitchen while making dinner. Harry wasn't exactly fond of that idea. His voice was decent but he could not play an instrument to save his life. James had a surprisingly good voice and Albus, as they found out in an awkward dinner party (that's a story for another time) could play the piano quite well. Lily also had a good voice and she and James could belt out amazing duets. Of course Harry could have just been biased, but he thought for sure he wasn't in this case. 

Now, Harry and his family, the large entity that it was, sat in the Gryffindor common room. Harry was propped up against the couch, a copy of Homer's  _The Iliad_ in his hands. Harry had taken up reading more and more as he had gotten older, though he preferred more fantasy and action stories over textbooks. Lily was sitting next to him, half leaning on him as she thumbed through her copy of  _Hogwarts, A History._ Behind them Moony and Padfoot were sitting on the couch, on opposite ends, but their legs were tangled together where they met in the center. Prongs and Prose, Harry still thought it was weird to refer to his mother as that but he was getting used to it, were sharing a chair both of them looking over a copy of  _The Daily Prophet._ Hermione and Ron had taken over the window seat and Hermione had her nose shoved in a textbook. Harry had laughed out loud at the familiar sight of her bushy hair peaking out from behind an academic writing. James and Albus were playing a game of wizard's chess in front of the fire place and Scorpius was looking of Albus's shoulder. Fred and George were at the table between the couch and fireplace designing new products for their joke shop and every now and then Prongs would throw out helpful hints. Draco was lounging in the chair closest to Harry reading his own copy of  _The Daily Prophet_ which he had received at breakfast earlier that day. Teddy was lying on his back with is legs propped up against the wall, thumbing through a magazine. Rose and Hugo were leaning against the couch on the other side, both of them sharing a charms book. Dean and Seamus were sitting on the floor playing some game that Harry couldn't identify in the space between Ron and Hermione and the couch. It was all very comfortable. 

Quidditch tryouts were the next day. Harry himself had just gotten back from flying around the pitch, enjoying the chance to be on a broom again. As he turned the page on his book Hermione looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. 

"Harry, are you reading?" 

"No. I'm just staring at the page idly before randomly turning it." 

Next to him Lily giggled and he couldn't help but smile. He felt her shift as she pulled her radio out of her pocket. 

"Hey!" Padfoot exclaimed as he saw it. "I used to have something like that." 

Moony rolled his eyes. "He did. And I'm surprised we ever slept." 

Harry laughed as Lily set up the radio next to her and tapped it with her wand. The radio sprang to life and made a whirring sound as it tried to assess which song it should play. One of the side effects of charming the radio was that it tended to play the song according to the mood of the room. The louder the room, the louder the song. 

"What exactly are you hoping for?" Harry asked as they waited for the radio to decide. It seemed as if all eyes had turned to the radio, wondering which song would come on. James and Albus were used to the randomness of the radio, they were more waiting for the reactions of everyone else. 

Lily shrugged. "I don't know. It's just too quiet in here. I don't like it." 

Harry nodded. "I know. It is really quiet for the Gryffindor common room. Typically we aren't this quiet, I think the week has just drained us. Most of us aren't test takers you know. Unless you count your Aunt Hermione. You know I've never seen anyone else jump at the chance to take a test. It was like me jumping at the chance to fight a dragon." 

"You did not jump at that chance, as I recall." Moony said from the couch. 

"True, but you know how I enjoy throwing myself into dangerous situations." Harry answered with an eye roll.

"Do you really?" Draco answered, sarcastically.

"No actually. I honestly hate trouble. But it seems to always find me."

But before Draco could answer, the radio sudden burst to life.

The undeniable strum of a guitar followed by several claps. 

" _Hey! U-huh! Hey! U-huh!_

_What I like about you,_

_You hold me tight."_

Harry laughed as he and Lily began to sing along, both knew the song well. James and Albus both rolled their eyes. They knew what was coming, inevitably. 

_"Keep on whispering in my ear,_

_Tell me all things I wanna hear,_

_'Cause that's true._

_That's what I like about you.  
_

_That's what I like about you."_

Harry set down his book and picked up Lily. James and Albus both scrambled aside, leaving their chess match to be discarded knowing that they too would be swept away if Harry got the chance. The others began to smile as Harry dancing with Lily in his arms. 

" _What I like about you,_

_You really know how to dance._

_When you up, down, jump around, think about true romance, yeah._

_That's what I like about you._

_That's what I like about you._

_That's what I like about you._

_That's what I like about you."_

Harry had captured Albus at this point and the boy was happily dancing with Lily and Harry in a weird semicircle, none of them really caring about how ridiculous they looked. 

" _Waahh!"_

Lily laughed at how wide Harry's eyes got when he sang that part. 

_"Hey!"_

The entire common room was paying attention to them now, which wasn't saying much considering that the common room consisted mostly of Harry's group and a few other people whom Harry didn't quite recognize, even though one of them was Katie Bell, her he did recognize.

" _That's what I like about you._

_That's what I like about you._

_That's why I like about you._

_Hey, uh huh huh, hey hey hey  
_

_Hey, uh huh huh, brrr  
_

_Hey, uh huh huh, hey!"_

Harry and his children laughed when the song finished. His children were used to this behavior, everyone else was not. Tom Riddle wasn't the only one the years had changed. 

"Come on." Harry beckoned to the rest of them. Some were amused...and some were very skeptical about the behavior of this Harry Potter. "Join us." Harry looked specifically at James when he spoke. His son, he knew, always enjoyed Harry's antics more than he cared to admit. 

"You seem to forget that most of us don't know the lyrics." Sneered Malfoy from his position behind Harry. Harry turned to look at him. 

"So?" 

Draco opened his mouth to retort, closed it, opened it again, and then closed it a final time. 

"Doesn't mean you can't dance. Or are you worried that you're going to make a fool of yourself?" Harry teased. When Draco didn't answer, Harry persisted. The song had changed to something Harry didn't recognize, and Harry wasn't even sure if the lyrics were in English. "Is the great Draco Malfoy afraid of looking silly?" Harry persisted, a twinkle in his eyes. 

"No." Draco answered defensively. 

"Then what's stopping you? Hell, I don't know this song. Lily what is this song?"  
  
"Calabria. The 2007 version." 

"There you go." Harry answered with a wave of his hand. "Come on. Live a little." 

"Oh I've lived plenty. Thank you." 

"Not enough." Harry answered with a snort. "Scorpius. Please tell me you are more fun that your father." Harry said as he turned away from the hopeless case that was Draco Malfoy. Scorpius looked between Harry and Draco before giving a shrug. Albus moved closer to Scorpius before offering the other boy his hand. 

"Come on. My dad's right. It's fun." Albus said with a smile. 

Scorpius eyed him for a moment before shrugging and taking his hand. Albus pulled him into the open area of the common room where he, Lily, and Harry had been dancing moments before and proceeded to dance with Scorpius. 

"See?" Harry said, jerking his thumb toward their children. "Fun." Harry turned back toward James before giving him a grin. "Come on. You know you want to." 

James gave his father a sour look. "No. No no no. You are not making me Dad." 

"Oh yes I am." 

James tried to keep up his sour look for a moment more, but couldn't and eventually broke into a grin as Harry pulled his oldest child out onto their now makeshift dance floor. The vibrant and booming base of the song ended and the thrum of the next song began. Harry vaguely recognized the artist, Lily had told him her name before. 

" _I've had a little bit too much._

_All of the people start to rush, start to rush by."_

Harry had never really restricted Lily on what she listened to, just helped explain to her what she was hearing and as long she understood, she was fairly contented. He knew that a lot of the songs that Lily listened to had a dirty connotation to them but honestly, it didn't bother him that much. Mostly because people put too much stock in music. Just because there were lyrics in a song, didn't mean that people were actually were going to go out and do them. 

By now Harry had started bugging Moony and Padfoot to dance. Padfoot was easy to persuade. Moony took a bit more persuasion, but eventually with a few tugs at his hand from Padfoot, he reluctantly got up. Remus bounced awkwardly, but it turned out that Sirius could dance rather well. He got into the rhythm rather quickly and just went with the music. Once Padfoot was up, it didn't take long for Prongs to follow, sweeping his wife with him. Dean and Seamus hadn't needed any persuading at all and just joined. Fred and George were very much the same way, dancing around everyone. Ron had come with a swift tug at his arm from his children who wanted to join Harry's on their makeshift dance floor.

_"Just dance!_

_It'll be ok._

_Just dance!"_

Teddy eventually came when Harry came over, singing "Just dance" to him. Hermione and Draco remained the only two hold outs. Draco though seemed quite content to watch the rest of them make fools of themselves. A couple other Gryffindors joined in, taking up what room was left in open area. They danced from song to song, wearing on the night. It was after midnight by the time that they had decided to go to bed. Several of the people in Harry's group were raving about Quidditch tryouts the next day as they each made their way up the stairs. Harry hung back, seeing everyone safely out of the common room and bidding goodnight to his children. Hermione also stayed back to say goodnight to everyone who had to leave. 

"There's more to life than books you know." Harry muttered to her once they were alone. 

"Of course I know that Harry." Hermione's voice was soft. 

"I remember dancing with you at your wedding." Harry said with a smile.

"You were the first one in line after my father. I remember. I danced with Ron. Then with my father. Then the father-daughter dance ended and you were right there with a large grin on your face, practically begging to be the next one." She paused for a moment. "You and I danced through three songs. Not talking, just dancing. Ron finally stole you away, I remember. You and Ron danced, looking like idiots I might add. And I danced with Ginny."

"You wouldn't let me go either, Mione." Harry reminded her gently. 

"I know. It's because you're my best friend, Harry. I mean..." She trailed off and Harry waited. "Ron and I have always had something. And then we became more than friends. And you and Ron haven't had a friendship, it's more than friendship. You two are like brothers. But you and me. You're my best friend. I could always tell you anything without feeling ashamed or worried." 

Harry pulled her in for a hug. "You're my best friend too." 

She buried her face in his chest. Once again he was reminded of the fact that he was in a body older than all of them. 

"Harry?" She asked as she pulled away. 

"Yes?" 

"What's troubling you?" 

Harry ran a hand through his hair. "That's a question that's going to take a long time to answer." 

Hermione moved to the couch and sat down, crossing her arms. "I've got all night." 

Harry gave a mirthless laugh as he moved to sit across from her. "It's just..." He began. "It's this whole situation. It doesn't make any sense to me. No matter how much I try to wrack my brain, nothing makes any sense. What we're doing here. Why all of us were brought together. How exactly the dead were brought back to life. I mean, the last one. That's the big kicker for me. I mean, we've been in some real situations," He gestured back and forth between the two of, earning him a smile from Hermione, "But bringing back the dead? You don't know how much I've thought about it, researched it, over the years. I know nothing can bring back the dead. So why are there so many dead people walking around? And the founders? Don't get me started on the founders. It turns out that they never died. They've been out and about this whole time. But Tom is acting even weirder." 

"Tom?"

"Voldemort." Harry corrected himself before continuing. "He's...not the same. He's not the person I remember. He's...different." 

Hermione watched him. "Different how?" 

Harry leaned forward, like he was sharing a secret and in a way, he was. "He said he was sorry Hermione." 

"WHAT?!" She screeched. 

"Shh!" He waved his hands trying to quiet her, looking up toward the stairs to make sure that no one came down. 

When it was clear that they were still alone, Hermione looked at him again, "What? Did you believe him? Don't tell me you believed him Harry. He's a liar." 

"I know what he is Hermione." Harry answered through gritted teeth. "I understand. But..."

"But?" She prompted.

"But I think everyone deserves a second chance. We gave Draco one. And you remember how he used to torment people. We gave Snape one and Snape was a loyal Death Eater for a long time, probably killed people. He was the reason Voldemort found out about the prophesy, the only reason why it came true. He tortured students while he was here. And we forgave both of them. My father wasn't the best person, he tormented Snape when he was a kid. But people change Hermione. We're not all set in stone. You've changed, I've changed. I'm not the same person I used to be. I'm..." He trailed off his voice tightening. 

"Harry," She started but Harry waved her off. 

"Hermione don't start." 

"No you listen to me Harry Potter." Her voice was stern but soft. "You need to stop. Stop looking at yourself like you're not worthy of us. Worthy of anything. You are. I don't care what your aunt and uncle did to you when you were younger, Harry. You are a good person. You've done more with your life than anyone else. And don't start with the whole you've had help thing that you've said to me for years. Harry, look at me." Harry had looked away while she spoke, staring into the fire, but now he looked back. "You aren't alone. You never were. I know that when we were fifteen we should have handled things differently, I know that ousting you was the worst way to handle things. But we know better now. We're here for you. I'm...I'm here for you." 

Harry blinked his eyes, which were suddenly clouding with tears. "I know Hermione. I've always known. I hope you know that I'm there for you too." 

"I know. Like I said. You're my best friend Harry." 

Hermione left after giving him a quick hug. Harry stared at the fire, watching it roar and crackle. He lied down on the couch, staring up at the ceiling, alone with his thoughts. He didn't even know when he had fallen asleep. 

He woke up to the sound of humming. His head felt slightly fuzzy and he felt disoriented, not quite remembering where he was. There was a hand stroking his hair and above him he saw a book. It took him a minute to realize that he was still in the Gryffindor common room, not having left. He blinked at the book above him, trying to figure out who exactly was humming and stroking his hair. 

"It's ok, Harry." His mother's voice. He settled back. His head was on her lap and her fingers were gently stroking his hair, first drifting over his forehead before carding through his hair. "You were having a nightmare when I came down."

"What time is it?" He grumbled. 

"It's just before seven." 

Harry made a garbled noise which sounded something like a troll and lion. 

Lily laughed at her son. "When did you finally go to sleep last night?" 

Harry shrugged as best he could. "Must have been almost one or so." 

"Are you going to be ok with tryouts today? Or do you need to get some more sleep?" 

Harry shrugged as he pulled off his glasses, rubbing his eyes. "I'll be fine. I've survived on less and in worse conditions." Lily frowned at him as he sat up, fixing his clothes as he did. 

"Harry, I'm sorry about my sister-" Lily began, her green eyes shining with tears. 

"Don't. Don't apologize for her. It's nothing you did. Besides, I've forgiven her. It's in the past. Let's just leave it there." He paused for a moment as he stood to stretch, ignoring the crick in his back. "I'm going to go up and change then would you like to join me for breakfast?" 

Lily was watching him for a moment, clearly wanting to say more on the issue but decided not to. Instead she swallowed. "Ok. Yeah. I'll wait here until you come down." 

Harry trotted up the stairs and slid inside his room. The other occupants were still asleep. He smiled when he saw a bit of bushy hair sticking out of Ron's bed. He changed quickly and ran back downstairs. His mother was waiting for him and he smiled at her. 

"Ready?" He asked. 

"Yes. Let's go." 

The two of them walked side by side, down the stairs and through the corridors. They were just around toward the Great Hall when they were suddenly confronted by Bellatrix and Lucius. 

"Aww. Isn't this cute." Bellatrix sneered. "It's ickle bitty baby Potter and his Mudblood mummy." 

No sooner did she finish speaking when she was flung against the wall. She was pinned, her head held back against the wall, her hands bound to her side, and her feet latched together. Lucius withdrew his wand to attack Harry when he too was flung against the wall pinned right next to Bellatrix, his body frozen identical to hers. Had it been any other situation, it would have been almost hilarious in how their hair stood up against the wall, like they had been zapped by lightening, and they might have. Harry's magic was crackling around them, forming a protective bubble around Lily Potter. He glared at Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange. 

"Don't you ever call my mother that again." He growled, pulling her toward and behind him, standing between them and the two Death Eaters. He heard the pounding of footsteps which indicated that people were running toward him. But he didn't care, his eyes were glued to the two people he hated the most on the planet in that moment. 

"Harry!"

"Harry!"

"Harry!"

Voices were echoing, yelling, begging him to stop but he wasn't. He watched the two of them, staring at them. 

"Am I making myself clear?" His voice was low and dangerous. The two of them watched him, neither of them answering. "DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?" He bellowed. 

"Harry, let them down please." Hands were shaking his arms, trying to get him to budge, but he wasn't moving. People were too afraid to step in front of him, to take over his vision. 

"Harry." The next voice he heard was calm, unlike every other voice around him, and suddenly his vision was clouded with the face of Tom Riddle. "Harry, put them down." His eyes flitted around Riddle once more before dropping them. Riddle's face was soft as he looked at Harry, his dark eyes filled with some emotion that Harry wasn't willing to identify. He stood with his hands in front of him, his green and black robes slightly crooked as though he had run to the scene.

"It wasn't like they were being hurt." Harry muttered bitterly. "Unlike them, I know not to torture people." Riddle was staring at him with something akin to understanding in his eyes. 

"Oh I know. You're not me. Had it been me, they would have been with the Cruciatus curse about a dozen times before anyone else got here." Riddle looked back at the two who were now straightening themselves out, their eyes suddenly blown wide with fear. "But alas, it was you. Someone too nice to give them what they deserve." Riddle's voice dissolved into a growl. He took a step back from Harry. "I believe you were heading to get breakfast." 

Harry nodded, reaching a hand for this mother, who took it hesitantly. The two of them walked into the Great Hall, leaving the crowd which included a very worried looking Professor McGonagall behind them. Lily and Harry sat down in the Great Hall and Harry reached for some food, piling his plate as he normally did. He felt his mother's eyes on him, watching him but he couldn't bring himself to care. 

"Harry," She started. 

"I'm not going to apologize for defending you." His voice was tight. 

"I know Harry. I was just going to say thank you but next time, maybe you could tone it down a little. You had everyone's hair standing on end." She was trying to make light of the situation, and he could tell so he gave her a smile to try to make her happy. 

"I'll try. Though I would have enjoyed seeing McGonagall with an afro." 

Lily chuckled. "Your hair didn't look much different though. You and your father both have that wild mane." She attempted to pat down his hair but it failed. 

"It will never work. I couldn't even tame it for the Yule Ball. Hermione managed to tame her hair before I could tame mine." 

Hermione chose right then to sit down at the table. "I did what now?" 

Harry smiled. "I was just telling Mom about how you managed to tame your hair before I could ever even dream of taming this mess." He jutted his finger toward his hair. 

"Oh for the Yule Ball. Harry you danced horribly that night. Only once dance, but I think you stepped on that poor girl's toes so much." 

Harry glared at her. "I did not. I spent the whole dance making sure I did not step on her toes, thank you. But then again, you spent the whole time with  _Viktor._ " His voice took a teasing tone with the name. Hermione's cheeks started to turn pink. 

"Viktor?" Lily asked. 

"Oh yes, Viktor Krum. Oh don't worry, Hermione." Harry said, when Hermione looked positively livid. "I'm sure Ron had a crush on him too. You should have heard Ron talk about Viktor after the Quidditch World Cup in our fourth year. It was only because of the fact that Viktor showed interest in you that he didn't like him anymore. He was jealous." Hermione choose then to throw some fruit at Harry's head, a couple of pieces of which he caught in his mouth. "Thanks for that." He said while grinning. "So anyway," He continued, turning to his mother, "We're at the Yule Ball and Hermione went with Viktor Krum and Hermione's and my own sister-in-law, I guess, was there too, she was one of the other champions. Fleur. She was from the Beauxbatons. Oh Hermione just loves Fleur. She married Ron's older brother, Bill. Ron asked Fleur out before the dance. Well he didn't actually ask. He sort of screamed and ran." Hermione snorted as she tried to retain a laugh. "And I mean, I wasn't much better. Here I am, barely danced ever in my life, and my date is leading me across the dance floor. We danced once and then left and she got swept away by someone else." Harry's story was now being listened to by his father. When James had joined the table, he wasn't sure, but he was there. "Oh. That was also the year when Hermione had a grudge match with a reporter who was an unregistered animagus in the form of a beetle. 

"Oh I have never seen Hermione so angry than when it came to Rita Skeeter. She had it out for that woman. I mean, it was natural I suppose. I don't even remember most of the stories that were written, but she and Hermione went back and forth all year long. It was terrible. Of course the next year it was Rita who wrote the correct article about what happened at the end of my fourth year. Hermione made sure of that. It was published in the magazine that Luna's dad edited for,  _The Quibbler._ Then the story gained popularity and it was everywhere except  _The Daily Prophet_ because Fudge was delusional. But then again, what do I know, I must not tell lies." Harry flexed his right hand. "Anyway, we saw Viktor again at Bill and Fleur's wedding. Oh Ron was not happy with that. Then again none of the women folk seemed to be happy with having Fleur around. She's a quarter Veela you see." Hermione rolled her eyes and Ron sat down at the table. 

"What was I not happy about?"

"Oh, Krum being at Bill and Fleur's wedding." 

"Oh, yeah." Ron grumbled. 

"Oh please, you weren't too mad when he showed up at your wedding." Harry grinned. 

"Do you know that you have fruit in your hair?" Was Ron's retort. 

Harry plucked it out of his hair and plopped it in his mouth. "Courtesy of your wife." 

"Harry?" James asked. "Why is everyone looking at you like you've sprouted two heads?" 

"Are they? I hadn't noticed. I've gotten used to it." Harry actually did notice. Thankfully his family, save for Lily, hadn't been in the corridor earlier when the issue with Lucius and Bellatrix had gone down. Though the two of them were now shooting daggers across the hall. Tom however, was watching Harry's every move with a worried look on his face. 

Harry had stopped talking and instead he looked down at his food, having lost his appetite. "I'll...uh...I'll see you all down at the pitch." Harry stood and walked out of the Great Hall. As to be expected, people were silent as he walked, watching him. 

Harry walked down to the pitch, going toward where the Gryffindor changing room was. He changed into his Quidditch robes and grabbed his Firebolt, dragging the box which held every ball used in the games with him. He set the box down and looked around the pitch. The morning wasn't exactly warm but it wasn't cold either, it was cool. He set out, flying around the pitch a couple of times to clear his head. He enjoyed the feeling of the wind in his hair. His firebolt, ever loyal, moved at every touch of his hand. He flew around the goal posts, circling each one, crossed the field and circled the posts there, flying as high as he could go and then zooming back down straight at the ground, pulling up at the last minute. He went this way and that. He didn't even think, he just flew. 

He didn't even notice when the others started arriving at the pitch, he was still just flying, burying himself in the clouds. Eventually he knew he would have to come back down to earth, and he had to admit, that fact was a bit terrifying to him. He didn't want to face the people he knew. He didn't want to sit around and take tests and play Quidditch, no matter how much he was looking forward to the game. He wanted to figure out the whole situation. But...it was alluding him. 

He landed on the grass in front of everyone. There weren't many people who showed up for tryouts. Mostly it was the people he expected with the addition of Dean and Katie. One of the chasers was going to have to go, and he dearly hoped the person he wasn't going to have to cut was James or Sirius. 

"Alright, well. Most of the team seems to be assembled already. Two beaters, a keeper, a Seeker. Just need to narrow down the chasers. So, this is how we'll play it. Fred, George. I need one of you to volunteer to be the other keeper. We'll play with two chasers on each team and no beaters. I know how you two work. I'll observe." Harry looked back and forth between the twins. 

George sighed. "I'll do it." 

"Good. Fred, you'll watch with me." 

"How can you tell them apart?" James asked. 

Harry shrugged. "I just learned. But that's beside the point. Sirius and Katie, you two will be with Ron. Dad, you and Dean will be with George." No one moved. "What are you doing? Let's go." He clapped his hands. 

They jumped and moved, mounting the school's brooms.  _I'm going to need to get more brooms for the team._ Harry thought idly as he jumped on his own broom, taking to the air again. They played and Harry watched. James and Sirius were good, really good. George made a good keeper and Harry couldn't help but think that worse case scenario they could use George as a back up if something happened to Ron. He purposely pitted James and Sirius against one another, knowing that at least one of them would still be on the team. But Harry had a feeling that the two could have easily have moved as one, but they were both vicious when it came to flying and fearless. Sirius was right, Harry and his dad did fly similarly. James and he moved the same way, shifting on the broom the same. In the end, Katie still proved to be the better flier. James and Sirius were too good and Dean...well Dean would have to function as a back up. 

With his team assembled, Harry launched right from tryouts into a practice, mostly to get them back into flying again. They were fairly standard drills, but they spent most of the day flying. They released the bludgers, eventually, and James and Sirius saw exactly how cunning Fred and George really were. The bludgers really didn't stand a chance against the two beaters and Katie remembered exactly how to fly with Fred and George. She was much calmer now that she wasn't running the show, compared to how she had been in Harry's fifth year. Harry watched them, seeing where they needed more work. Every team would be starting from scratch so Harry would have to develop his own battle strategy. 

"Hey, we should have the snitch out." James called as he and Sirius flew by. 

"Yeah. We should." Sirius agreed. 

The two off them circled Harry like sharks. "Let's see what our fearless captain can do." 

"This isn't about the snitch right now." 

"Aww yes it is." Whined James.

"It is." 

"Yeah come on Harry." Fred said as he flew by, joining the circle. 

"Yeah Harry. Release the snitch." George added.

"Release the snitch! Release the snitch! Release the snitch!" The four chanted and suddenly their chants were being joined by the spectators. Teddy, Scorpius, Albus, James, Draco, Rose, Hugo, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Katie (which surprised Harry), and several other Gryffindors joined the chants as well as several other people Harry didn't quite know, though he thought for sure one was Newt Scamander. Luna, who was also in the crowd but not chanting, was grinning hugely. 

"RELEASE THE SNITCH! RELEASE THE SNITCH! RELEASE THE SNITCH!" 

Harry rolled his eyes before diving toward the box on the ground. Cheers erupted around him as he grabbed the little golden ball and held it. It sat in his hand for a moment before the wings opened and it shot out of his palm. It hovered in the air for a moment and then shot into the sky. Harry got back on his broom, shaking his head as he did. His eyes still followed the little nuance so he turned back to the others. 

"Play." He demanded. "It's not fair if I'm still watching it." 

Among the people watching in the crowd was Harry's least favorite group of people, the Death Eaters, and Tom. Tom was leaning back in the stands, one foot resting on his knee, his arms crossed on his chest. He watched Harry as he flew, seeing every move Harry made.

Harry flew over the stands, hovering near Luna. 

"Do you still have the lion head?" He asked her. 

"No." She admitted, her dreamy voice seeming sad. "But I can make another one." 

"Please do." He answered while grinning. 

Harry turned his eyes back to the pitch, rising once again. Once he decided that a sufficient amount of time had passed between when he let the snitch go and then, he started looking for it, his eyes jumping back and forth between the other players and the rest of the pitch to look for the snitch. If looking for just the snitch was hard enough, this was making it even worse. Every now and then he thought he saw a flash of gold, but he realized it was just his eyes playing tricks on him. Eventually, he stopped paying attention to the other players entirely. His mind was absorbed with finding the snitch. Then he saw it, hovering close to the ground on across the field. Harry took off, sinking against his broom as he did. 

The wind wiped against his face and this was one of many occasions in which he was glad to have glasses because they keep his eyes from watering. The snitch sensed him closing and began to move, flying closer to the ground, but Harry saw it coming, diving as well. The snitch faked left and flew right, but Harry was ready, his arm flying out right as his broom flipped over. He caught the snitch, flying upside down. He looped around, righting himself and came to a stop in the center of the field. 

"So how was that for a show?" Harry asked conversationally as the snitch fluttered in his hand, but his heart was thrumming in his ears. He missed the thrill of it. Of catching the snitch. James and Sirius were both staring with their mouths open like gaping fish. Fred and George looked mildly impressed and Ron was just staring. "Well? Keep playing. We've got some work to do still."

"Oi! Come on mate. We've been playing for hours!" Ron scoffed. Harry rolled his eyes. 

"Fine. I still have to design our game plan anyway." 

They began to fly off the pitch one by one. The Weasley twins wrestled the bludgers back in their spots and Harry placed the snitch away. They all went into the changing room, each of them changing quickly as Harry had suddenly realized he was hungry. They had skipped lunch in order to practice more. Harry pulled the box back into the shed along with the school's brooms and made a mental note to go to the owlery later to send off for better brooms. Harry was the last to leave because he had to put the equipment away in the shed. As he started back up to the school, he was again joined on his solitary walk. 

"You fly beautifully you know." Tom's voice came from next to him. 

"Oh. Um. Thank you." 

"You're welcome, Harry." 

"Listen Tom, about earlier today..." Harry paused as he turned to face Riddle but Tom waved him off with a smile. 

"Don't even worry about it. They deserved it. Honestly, I would have done worse were I in your place. Your mother doesn't deserve to be mocked after everything that she's been through."

Harry looked over Tom. "Why are you suddenly being so nice to me?" 

To his surprise, Tom laughed. "I guess you could say that I finally...understand some things. Things in which I didn't understand, nor thought I was ever capable of understanding, before." 

Tom looked at Harry, his obsidian eyes searching. "Where were you, Tom? If you don't mind me asking." 

"That...is a long story for another time." Riddle's voice suddenly grew tight. He turned to walk back up the castle. 

"Tom." Harry said as he caught up to the taller one. "I'm sorry if I brought up something painful." 

Tom laughed again, this time it was more of a hallow laugh. He turned to look at Harry again, his eyes misty as though he were about to cry. "Harry. You are too kind for your own good. Do you know that?" 

Harry raised an eyebrow at Tom but before he could answer Tom took a step toward him and gently placed a hand on his cheek. "Don't ever change. Don't lose that. Don't let this cruel world take that away. You didn't when I was my wretched self. I know you deal with your demons on a daily basis. But you don't have to deal with them alone. I can help you, if you'd let me." Tom had gradually leaned forward as he spoke, his voice barely above a whisper now, and he gently pressed his lips against Harry's. Too shocked to do anything, Harry just stood, frozen. 

Tom pulled away, his fingers ghosting over Harry's lips. "Maybe that will explain something." He murmured, a lone curl falling across his forehead as he looked at Harry again. "Though I think standard procedure when someone kisses you is to kiss them back." 

" _Oh fuck you."_ Harry muttered in parseltongue. 

" _So you could understand me that first day."_ Tom answered, raising an eyebrow. 

_"Yes."_

Tom's eyes flitted to Harry's lips again, as though he wanted to kiss him again, but he didn't. He took a step back. "I know the situation is complicated. What with you having a wife and kids now. And I won't put you in a bad situation. I just had to do that once." 

Tom was walking back up toward the castle before Harry could even begin to come up with answer. 

That night, Harry lied in bed, very confused about what exactly he was feeling and what was going on. 


	8. All Good Things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please forgive me.

Newt was more than happy to be outside and in the Forest. He had been recently introduced to Hagrid, Hogwarts' game keeper and since then had helped the man take on the task of caring for the creatures on the grounds of Hogwarts or more specifically, in the Forbidden Forest. This was nothing new to Newt of course. He had originally been expelled for dealing with "dangerous creatures" and as it turned out, so had Hagrid. This came as a surprise to him. Not that Hagrid would be so kind hearted as to help a creature and raise it, but that Dumbledore would let the same mistake happen twice in such a short amount of time. Newt and Hagrid were not that much different from one another in terms of age, in all reality. Naturally, Newt was older and had gone to Hogwarts first, but both he and Hagrid had been around at around the same times. Newt was maybe ten or so years Hagrid's senior if one really thought about it. Maybe twenty. But Newt had been at Hogwarts during Grindelwald's terror and subsequently helped capture Grindelwald the first time in New York. It was not much later that Tom Riddle and Hagrid, Newt had yet to learn the man's first name, had walked the halls of Hogwarts and then Hagrid himself had been expelled. One would think that Dumbledore would have learned from the first time when a student was false accused of something. Of course, both times Dumbledore had merely been a professor not headmaster as he had been in Harry's time, which is probably what save Mr. Potter a fair amount of expulsion. 

Newt shook his head as he smiled to himself. He was approaching the castle's herd of thestrals with a rather large bucket of meat. The animals seemed rather happy to see him and Newt had to admit, he was happy to see them as well. The first skeletal figure, a baby, took a step toward him and Newt knelt down so as to not be as intimidating as he held out a piece of bloody meat toward the creature. It hesitated for a moment before it plucked it quickly out of his hand and ran back toward his mother. Newt laughed quietly before he threw a piece at the mother's feet. The mother sniffed it before beginning to tear it apart herself. Newt moved from one member of the herd to the another, feeding them as he went. He knew not to approach them too fast, lest they get spooked. They were naturally shy creatures, and he would have to earn their trust. He waited off to the side until they had finished eating before he approached one of them again. He went with his hand held out, much like approaching a dog. The creature evaluated him before pressing its cold head into his hand. 

"Good girl." He whispered as he stroked the mare's head. "Can I look you over?" He asked the creature and it responded by giving him a snort. "Alright. I promise I will not hurt you. I'm going to keep one hand on you so you know where I am, ok? Just don't kick me." He said the last part with a little laugh as he moved his way to the left the skeletal horse, evaluating the being's neck. "You're a strong one aren't you?" He asked her, running his hand down her neck. She shook her head and snorted again while Newt moved down to her muscular shoulders. "Good girl." He cooed. "Mind if I see your wings?" The black being stretched its massive wings in front of him and he ducked to look at them, making sure they were intact. "Good." He muttered as he looked at the flesh under the wings. "Keeping clean I hope." The beast snorted again. "Good." Newt moved toward her hind legs, watching her swishing tail. She shifted slightly, but mostly she seemed comfortable with him. "Alright." He said as he moved back toward her head. "You seem like you're doing quite well." She bumped him with her head in response and he laughed. "Well I'm glad you approve of my inspection." 

The man the proceeded to repeat this process with every member of the herd, evaluating them. He patched up a few injuries here and there, but for the most part the herd was healthy. "Alright," He clapped his hands after washing them in the bucket of water he had brought with him as well. "That should do it." He turned to empty the bucket of water on a dry looking sapling when he noticed he was being watched. 

"You don't have to hide." He murmured, trying to catch a glimpse but only caught site of bright yellow hair. "They won't hurt you." 

"I know." Came a dreamy response. "I've just never seen someone else approach them that way."

"Someone else?" Newt answered as the girl stepped out from behind the tree. 

"Yes." She huffed. "Typically that's what I do, but I didn't know that others did it as well." 

"Ah. Well you must get it from me then Luna." Newt answered with a smile. Of course he recognized her. How could he not? Her dreamy voice and her bright hair gave her away, as well as her ever observing blue eyes. 

"You know who I am?" She asked, blinking her eyes owlishly. 

"Of course. You're my great granddaughter." 

Luna answered him with a smile. "We've just never been properly introduced." She said after a moment of silence, looking around him at the thestrals. 

"I'm assuming you do better with animals than people anyway." Newt followed her gaze. 

"Yes." The answer was simple and Newt found himself grinning at it. 

"Me too. I suppose that's another thing you get from me." 

Luna turned her head back toward him, evaluating him much like he had with the thestrals moments before. The pair just stared at one another, and it wasn't uncomfortable. Eventually Luna moved forward, walking passed Newt toward the thestrals behind him. She patted a couple of them on the head and looked at one that was a just barely budding into an adult. 

"I used to come out here and feed them when I went to school here. For a long time I didn't have any friends, as a matter of fact I don't think anyone knew I even existed until my fourth year." Newt wondered what exactly she was getting at, but he listened anyway. "Then I just happened to end up in the same carriage as Harry Potter. That was when I was noticed really for the first time. Not as Looney Lovegood as they liked to call me, even his friends called me Looney, but not Harry. He just called me Luna. I was one of the first members of the D.A." Newt wanted to ask what the D.A. was but he figured it could wait for later. "That was the first time I ever felt like I had a friend, when I met Harry Potter. He doesn't just see people for what the world labels them as, though I suppose that's because he himself was labeled. He sees you for who you are. Not what you can do, not how you can help him. Just you. He invited me to go with him to Slughorn's Christmas party in my fifth year. I had never been asked to anything like that before. I didn't even know that he hadn't asked anyone else. He just asked me. He asked as a friend and I honestly don't think I've ever had a better friend than Harry Potter. He named his daughter after me. Well her middle name anyway. But I wasn't anyone until I met Harry Potter. He has that effect on people. He just cares for them in a way that most people don't. He feels like he fails if he doesn't. He taught me how to cast a patronus." Luna turned to face Newt at this point. "I'm worried about him. I don't think he realizes how important to all of us he really is. I never had a friend before Harry. But he's...in his fifth year and sixth year he was struggling and his friends...they didn't help him. They just isolated him. A horrible way to help him really. I'm worried that he isn't ok again. I'm worried that he never really was."

Luna finished and twirled a strand of her long hair. 

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Newt asked, tilting his head to the side. 

Luna blinked at him in her owlish way again. "Because you're my great grandfather." She answered simply. "I don't have anyone else." The last part was said quietly, and Newt was almost sure he didn't hear it. 

"Can I come over to you?" He asked, his hands in front of him passively. She nodded once. Newt walked over, making a point of keeping his hands visible, before he pulled her into a hug. Newt never really was one for human contact...or human anything. Most humans loathed him actually. But while Luna talked, he saw himself in her. He saw his own childhood, remembered dealing with some of the very similar things at Hogwarts. Only he did not have a Harry and he was expelled before one could come along. Luna hugged him back and nestled her head against his shoulder. The pair stood like that for a moment, not saying anything. When Newt pulled away, he was still gripping Luna's upper arms, holding her steady. 

"Luna, I will always be here for you, ok?" She gave him a nod again before he smiled. "Come on, help me bring this stuff back to Hagrid's hut." This time it was Luna's turn to smile and the two of them went to the buckets Newt had brought. Luna carried the empty meat bucket and waited as he emptied the water bucket on the sapling before they trudged up to Hagrid's. They walked in silence for the most part, only saying something here and there and none of it was really of any significance. Upon reaching the half giant's hut, they deposited the buckets and walked toward the castle which lay in front of them, sprawled out against the land. 

"You know I never finished my education." Newt said conversationally. 

"I know. Something about setting a dangerous beast on another student." Luna answered, though her voice sounded bitter.

"Yes. Though I did learn quite a lot from traveling the world." 

"Where was your favorite place to go?" Luna asked, looking over at him. 

Newt opened his mouth to answer, but another voice swept between them. 

"Please say New York." 

Newt spun to find the speaker and his eyes landed on a tall man with a strange combination of silver and blonde hair. He recognized him immediately, much as he had with Luna. Newt felt his body stiffen automatically at the sight of the other man who grinned at seeing the reaction.

"No seriously. Please answer the girl. She has a right to know after all." Grindelwald waved his hand toward Luna. Newt said nothing as he looked over the man he saw before him. He was significantly older than Newt remembered, of course that was years ago and Dumbledore himself had visibly aged in that time. 

"What do you want?" Newt's voice was tight as he answered, and he felt himself itching for his wand. Every now and then his missed his blue trench coat, it was much easier to get a wand out of than school robes. But now was not the time to think of such things. 

"I mean you no harm, I can assure you." 

Newt huffed out a laugh. "You really expect me to believe that you and Tom Riddle both have changed your ways? That seems..." He trailed off trying to find the right word. "Doubtful." He finished eventually. When Grindelwald didn't answer him Newt decide to speak again, "Just at least let Luna go. I can understand if you are angry with me, but she has done nothing to you." His voice had taken on a pleading tone now and he could tell that Luna was about to protest but he shot her a look, warning her to back down. 

"I told you Newt, I am not going to harm you. I have no intention of hurting you or the girl." Grindelwald's shimmering eyes flitted between Newt and Luna before coming to a rest on Newt once again. 

"Then what do you want?"

Grindelwald didn't answer the question and they both stood, staring at one another. The air was filled with tension and it almost felt like everything else around them stopped. As far as Newt knew, the whole world shrunk into this moment between him and Grindelwald. He hadn't really dealt with the man since he had been carted away in New York. The last words that they had spoken to one another had both been threats in a way, so Newt was not exactly sure what was going to come of this conversation. 

It was then that Newt began to think back on his every interaction with Grindelwald, realizing that neither of them had actually been on the same page. They had butted heads constantly, neither of them agreeing with one another. Grindelwald, while impersonating someone else, had taken his case and nearly destroyed it while sentencing Newt himself to death and Newt subsequently locked him away. Granted the man did not stay there, but grudges did last. Both of them had fought over Credence, even though in all reality Grindelwald had merely wanted the boy for his power. Grindelwald accused Newt and his creatures of killing the senator from New York and both of them had been apart of the chase that destroyed nearly half of New York City. The history between them as rocky to say the least. 

After what felt like an eternity, Grindelwald spoke again, "I had a lot of time to sit and think while in my prison cell. I mulled over my life and it's many adventures." Grindelwald had begun to walk closer to Newt at this point and Newt resisted every urge to back away. "And I thought, often in fact, about New York. That was the first time I was a captured. By a favorite of Dumbledore's no less. Of course Dumbledore was right about you. He tends to be right about most things, except me it would seem. He was wrong about me the first time around." Grindelwald began to stroke his beard which rival Dumbledore's in length. "But alas, that is in that past. And that is exactly where I want it to say. What I want, Mr. Scamander," Grindelwald emphasized his name as he looked down at Newt, "Is for us to leave the past behind us where it belongs. To move forward. Isn't that what we were all given here? A fresh start?" Grindelwald looked over Newt before he stuck his rather muscular hand out. "Can we leave the past in the past?" 

Newt hesitated but only for a moment before he reached out and shook his hand. "I will if you will." He answered, glad his voice didn't shake. 

"Good." Grindelwald withdrew his hand. "Enjoy the rest of your day." His eyes flitted to Luna again before he turned and walked away. 

Newt watched the man go before turning back toward his great granddaughter. She looked about as confused as he felt. 

"Who was that man?" 

"Gellert Grindelwald." Newt answered as he started toward the castle again. 

"Grindelwald?" Her dreamy voice took on a curious tone. 

"It's a long story." Newt answered. 

"I've got nothing but time today." Luna said with a knowing smile. 

Truth be told, so did he. He had finished his last practical exam the day before and now they just had to wait for their results. 

"Alright, come on then." 

* * *

It felt like the whole school was outside in front of the castle that day. There might have been one or two people missing, the founders and professors included, but everyone else seemed to be there. Luna and Newt found a place under a tree and Harry watched them talk. He desperately wanted to approach, to see how Luna was doing, but he didn't want to interrupt. As far as he knew, that was Luna's only family on campus. Harry had invited her to come along with the to every gathering they had, but Luna had always kindly declined and drifted off somewhere. In all honestly, Harry missed Luna little. He missed her dreaminess, he missed the random things she would say, he missed the way her eyes would glaze over as she looked at you as if she were looking through you. Harry sighed as he turns his attention back to his already large group. They were all in various states of sitting positions on the grass. Some were lying, some were propped up on elbows, some where sitting. Harry was certain that the pile of legs in the center would just continue to grow. It had started as just Prongs' legs, but then Padfoot came over and threw his legs on top, clearly not caring about invading his friend's personal space, and the pile continued to grow from there. People would shift in and out, and Harry wasn't even sure that everyone was even facing inward toward the circle they had created. 

Harry himself was just enjoying the sun. It wasn't like what he had done when he had come out next to the lake after the Battle of Hogwarts. Then he had been alone and he could go into a state of semi undress without worry about his body. Harry wasn't particularly self conscious, but it would have been a little weird to lie in the sun with his mother and daughter both in the surrounding area. 

"Thank god those tests are over." Padfoot nearly whined. 

"Oh they weren't that bad." Hermione and Moony answered simultaneously, and Harry could swear they both rolled their eyes at the same time too.

"Whatever. You two both are constantly buried in books." Padfoot mumbled as he threw his arm over his face. Unlike Harry, he didn't have any reservation about pulling off his shirt while he lied in the sun. His shirt was currently functioning as his pillow and when he had folded it under him he had received a joke from Prongs about how hard his head was to need something to guard against the ground. 

"For different reasons." Prongs responded now. "Hermione over there is brilliant and enjoys school. Moony here," He clapped the werewolf on the shoulder, "Just does it so that way we can be even more devious." 

Harry sighed inwardly. For the last week Prongs, Padfoot, Fred, and George had been plotting against the Slytherins as a whole. Harry was sure that his mother had let slip the incident in the hallway which had only served to spur the four largest trouble makers he had ever known into action. They had been plotting, and wisely silencing themselves whenever Harry neared. Moony had been dragged in here and there to help with their plots and Harry had found himself vaguely wondering which would be a larger display, the prank against the Slytherins or the attack on Umbridge in his fifth year. 

The thought of the toad made a shiver run up his spine like cold fingers so he pushed the thought away and focused back on the group. 

It had been nearly two weeks that they all were together and they had fallen into an easy rhythm. There was nothing more simple than being around his family. In the morning Harry would wake up, for whatever reason he was up at the crack of dawn, and walk down to have breakfast with his mother. The two of them would wait in the Great Hall for everyone else and then the group would go onto whatever task they would need to do that day. At lunch they would reconvene again, mostly with a lot of food being flung back and forth between Padfoot and Prongs, then the group would part ways again. At dinner they would meet again, and this meal would be met with a lot of jeers toward the Slytherin table. Most of the day would be punctuated with Tom's obsidian eyes following Harry like a hawk. Even when Harry couldn't see him, he felt those eyes. Then the group along with it's non Gryffindor members would head to Gryffindor tower and stay there for a long period of time, mostly listening to music or having a wizard's chess tournament. It was quickly revealed that Lily rivaled Ron in wizard's chess, which Ron was not happy about. Then Harry would walk the non Gryffindors back to their common rooms, depositing the Slytherin Malfoys the last. Then he would patrol around the castle for a little, his walk usually being joined by Tom himself who would join him just outside the Slytherin common room. The two would walk in silence mostly, just walking around the castle and every now and then venturing outside. Harry knew the full moon was coming and part of him was thinking about how exactly to transport Moony through the castle on his little night walks. Then he and Tom would part ways and Harry would drift to sleep thinking about what exactly Riddle's latest cryptic message meant. 

Harry found himself looking forward to the walks at night. They had started the Sunday after the Quidditch tryouts when everyone's pattern seemed to have started. As the week drew on though, Harry found that he didn't exactly hate Tom's company. He enjoyed it. There was something soothing about Tom's dark aura that calmed him more than talking to anyone else during the day had. "Dark does not always mean evil, Harry." Tom told him one night. "I told you once before that there is no such thing as good and evil and I stand by that, even now. Though I don't agree that there is only power. I believe now that it is merely perspective, how one sees the world. When I was doing what I did, I did not see myself as evil. Yet that is what I was called. Grindelwald did not see himself as evil, in fact his saying was 'For the Greater Good'. He saw himself as good. It's about how we see things, how we interpret them. Not good or evil. They don't exist. We made them." Harry had to admit that Riddle had a point there. The night walks had made Harry stop seeing Tom Riddle as Voldemort. Harry had called him Tom to begin with mostly because he knew it bugged the other, knew he resented his Muggle name, but now Harry was not so sure. 

Harry could feel those dark eyes on him now. Tom was behind him somewhere, though Harry couldn't exactly tell. Part of him wanted to reach for Tom, to try to see if there was some kind of mental link between them still. It would be the only explanation. Harry had lost the ability to speak Parseltongue the day the horcrux in him was destroyed, or so Harry thought, but what if it wasn't the horcrux? What if it was just Riddle himself? What if the fact that they were bonded by blood, soul, and mind for nearly seventeen years had caused a much stronger connection than even Dumbledore anticipated? Well, the blood part had only come in Harry's fourth year, but that likely just made the bond stronger. Which would explain why he could suddenly understand and speak in Pareseltongue again. Though it didn't answer the question if the mental link was still there. Harry would have to try on one of their evening walks, maybe tonight. 

"Knut of your thoughts?" His mother's voice cut through his thinking like a sharp knife. He blinked as he looked over at her, giving her a smile as he did. 

"You would be overpaying I'm afraid." He answered, running a hand through his hair. 

She laughed and held up her hand as though she were holding a coin, but there was nothing in it. "A nonexistent knut for your thoughts then?" 

Harry laughed and took the nonexistent coin before folding his arms across his chest. "I was just thinking about how easy this all is." He looked over at everyone else who had slid into some form of conversation. Ron was talking to Lily, presumably about chess. Fred, George, Padfoot, and Prongs were all talking about what was most likely their upcoming spectacle. Albus, Scorpius, Rose, and James were engaged in some deep talk which Harry couldn't decipher. Draco, Moony, and Hermione were locked in probably the most mindnumbingly intellectual conversation ever. Hugo and Teddy were both talking about what class they were most enjoying at this point. Harry had barely remembered that the children were actually in their schooling process. He had been so wrapped up in other things. Dean and Seamus were half on top of one another and there was absolutely no conversation going on there. Harry remember when Dean and Seamus proposed to one another. They had both gone to propose at the same time, or at least so Harry had been told. He had found out the next day. "It's about time." He told them both when he had clapped them both on the shoulder and pulled them in for a large hug. Neville was currently mumbling as he trimmed his plant and Harry could only assume that he was actually talking to the plant itself. "How easy we all work together." His mother looked around at the group too, seeing what he had seen moments before. 

"Yes, it does work well doesn't it." 

"Have you talked to Severus?" Harry felt himself asking before he could stop himself. 

She hesitated before answering, her lips pursed. "No." She said finally. 

"Do you mind if I ask why not?" He looked over at her, turning his full attention to his mother. 

"I don't feel the need to. Severus and I...he was my friend once. And I know that he had always harbored feelings for me. But I don't..." She trailed off as she bit her lip. Harry had noticed her doing that from time to time, much like he did. "Harry you are a much better person that I am. You forgave him for what he did. I never can. He's done things which I cannot...I will not get over."

Harry nodded. "I understand." He said resolutely. 

They sat in silence for a few more moments before she leaned against him. "Don't lose that knut. You may need it again." 

Harry smiled and made a show of putting the nonexistent knut in his pocket, tapping it slightly. She smiled at him before she threaded her hand through his and leaned against him. They sat like that for a while and just watched the others. It was peaceful to do so, not feeling like the weight of the world was on his shoulders, even for a few minutes, was some comfort. But the world was heavy, and the weight didn't stay off of his shoulders for long. 

Harry felt the slight smile he had on his face fade away as once again the question which had plagued him for two weeks came floating around in his mind. 

**What the hell were they all doing there?**

It came like a swarm of bees, buzzing around in his head. He tried to think, tried to focus, to take apart everything that he learned from the last two weeks, but nothing could help him. All of the smartest people he knew are at a loss for what exactly they were there for. No one seemed to have a clue. Harry ran his hand that his mother wasn't hold through his hair again, giving off a slight huff as he did. 

This made no sense. 

* * *

Tom watched Harry, he was running his hand through his hair more than normal which meant that he was probably thinking hard about something. He was sitting alone under a tree, a little away from the monster of a group that Harry had. The tree provided excellent shade and allowed him to sit, mostly unnoticed. A couple of the Death Eaters had walked by and not even noticed him. Though that could be because he didn't want to be noticed. Though he had a feeling Harry knew where he was, despite not looking at him or even be facing toward him. He actually had a lot of feelings about Harry in general. Like what Harry was feeling, or when he was thinking about Tom, as he had been a few minutes before; or when Harry felt strained or tired because Tom's own body felt a slight drain like Harry was drawing from him. 

He assumed it was probably due to the bond that they had shared before his own demise. It would only be logical. Harry and he had been connected on more levels than any two people had been connected in history, there was no conceivable way that some of that connection did not still linger. It was soul, mind, blood, and in several ways magic as well. Harry's magical core was very similar to Tom's, even if Tom's was much darker. He preferred the shadows. Harry was the type who liked to light up the shadows. Tom was darkness, Harry was lightening. Both were forces of nature. 

Tom ran his hand through his hair, mirroring Harry, without even realizing that he was doing so. He could see the tension in Harry's shoulders but he had always watched it fade when they spent their evenings together. Harry seemed happy, or at least less stressed, when he spent time with Tom and Tom had to admit that he was glad that he could spend time with Harry, anything that he could get. 

* * *

_Voldemort sat and watched as Harry sat on the train back from Hogwarts. Where exactly the Potter boy was going was none of Voldemort's business, except that horrid god had decided it was. He pulled on the chains once more, trying and failing yet again to break them lose. But alas, as always the chains stayed attached to the polls which were stuck in the ground. Voldemort had grown accustomed to the dim light of the_ _world around him which only changed with Potter was in daylight._

_Ugh. Precious Harry Potter._

_No one would ever leave him alone. It was annoying to watch all the people dote on the boy. So what if he had defeated Lord Voldemort? It wasn't like he had saved the planet._

_Ok...maybe he had._

I am talking to myself.  _He thought bitterly._ One of the signs of insanity. 

_He looked back up to the screen to watch the Potter boy nod off in his seat, his eyes were drifting shut and snapping back open only to drift shut again. It was so very human. Sometimes even Voldemort forgot that Harry Potter was not this great entity, but actually a seventeen year old boy. He wasn't anything more than a school boy who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time._

_Voldemort tore his eyes from the screen and looked at either side of the canyon he_ _was in, searching down each side to see if there were any signs of life. Every time he looked, there never were, yet he looked anyway. It was better than watching Potter and his sleepiness._

_Voldemort let his head roll back. He had found that the rock behind him could function as a pillow of sorts if he positioned himself just right. Sometimes he wondered if it was possible to die in death because the life of Harry Potter was so incredibly monotonous. He wanted to bash his head on the wall behind him. And to think it had only been a couple of weeks since he had died. If he was doomed to watch the monotony of that damn boy for the rest of his life he would go insane._

_He felt his eyes flutter as he too was about to drift to sleep when a scream erupted, jerking him awake._

_The scream was a woman's he knew that much. It echoed on the rock walls and drowned out whatever was going on in the life of Harry Potter. Flames licked over the edge of the canyon wall and the screams continued. Voldemort reached his hands to his ears to try to cover it, but he couldn't put enough force against his ears to ignore the sound entirely. The scream was high and violent as it ricocheted across the walls, bouncing back and forth. Voldemort wasn't sure if it was just one scream, or if it was several screams punctuated by a long silence which allowed the echo on the walls to continue. But he heard every moment of it._

_The sound lasted for hours. Not what felt like hours. It really lasted for hours. He could tell because of the change in daylight in Harry's time, which he estimated to be about four hours. The screaming lasted for about four hours. Then suddenly, it stopped. But it still echoed in Voldemort's head. He could still hear it, like it was being screamed right in his ear. For all he knew, it might have the whole time._

* * *

"I'm hungry." James whined. He had been shifting for the last few minutes, clearly getting more and more uneasy. It was still quite some time until dinner and they had just recently had lunch, but Harry also knew that James was a lot like him. Harry could eat for days and still be hungry later. Though Ron's appetite beat Harry's, Harry still had quite the appetite. James was the same way. 

"You could run to the kitchens and get some food." Harry suggested with a simple shrug. James gave him a look that clearly articulated that he did not want to go alone. Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Or I could go with you." 

James smiled. "I like that idea." This time Harry really did roll his eyes as he stood, brushing himself off. 

"Anyone want anything while we're up?"

They were suddenly bombarded with an order for food from every direction. Harry had a feeling most of it was simply to make the trip harder because they were already going but they knew, just as he knew, he was going to oblige anyway. When he finally got everyone's wishes memorized, he pushed James ahead of him and the two of them left their circle to venture up toward the castle. Harry swung his head casually to the side where he knew Tom to be, just to make sure that he wasn't imaging the other there. Tom's eyes met his and Tom gave him an a near imperceptible nod. Harry returned it and turned his attention back toward his venture up the hill with his son. 

"Are you really hungry? Or is something else on your mind?" Harry asked once they were far enough away from the rest of the group.

"A little of both, I guess." James answered as he scratched the back of his neck. 

"Oh?" Harry asked again, trying not to pry the information out of James. He would offer it if he wanted to, but Harry wouldn't force him. 

"It's this dream I had last night." James began.

"Ah." Harry smiled knowingly. If anyone had experience with disturbing dreams, it was the Boy Who Lived. "Care to share, or are you not comfortable?"

James hesitated as the two continued to walk, taking a turn toward the stairs that lead toward the dungeons. "Well..." James looked the exact opposite direction of his father as he thought. "It was here at Hogwarts. We were sitting around like were are today when this man comes up. I didn't recognize him, but he had that symbol, you know the one that brought us all here?" James turned to look at Harry who nodded, before he continued. "He came up to us and aimed his wand at you and then suddenly..." James trailed off again and Harry put his hand on his son's shoulder, stopping them both. He turned James so he would look at him. 

"What happened?" Harry asked, his voice kind. 

James eyes were filled with tears as he looked back up at his father. "You started screaming. You were in horrible pain. Nothing we could do would stop it, we couldn't move. None of us. We tried, I tried. But I couldn't stop it. You were just screaming and screaming. And then there was blood coming from your mouth...so much blood..."

James had begun to sob and Harry pulled his son into his arm, wrapping him tightly. They didn't speak for a long time, neither really knowing what to say. Harry knew what curse had been applied to him in the dream, he had experienced it before. But James...James had never seen the Cruciatus curse. He must have felt so helpless. And what was worse was that he couldn't have moved in the dream. He was trapped, doomed to watch his father be tortured. Harry hugged his son tighter to him, trying to put as much comfort into the hug as he could. James had his face buried into Harry's chest, sobbing out of control. A couple people passed them, but Harry couldn't have cared less about them. All he cared about was the sobbing boy in his arms. He ran his hand through James' hair. James calmed down eventually, his sobbing becoming less and less. When he stopped sobbing entirely, Harry pulled away to look at his son. He didn't say anything, just wiped the tears off his son's face. James looked at him with watery blue eyes and Harry offered a small smile. 

"It was just a dream James. It's ok. But I'm glad you told me. It's going to be ok, ok? I promise you." 

James nodded. Harry looked down at himself and cracked a smile. 

"Look. You got me all dirty." 

James couldn't help it, he giggled. Harry cleaned himself and his son up, then with one arm wrapped around James' shoulder, the two ventured toward the kitchen again, this time with renewed vigor. Harry assumed that James was even hungrier after what had just transpired. Harry and James were flooded with elves upon entering the kitchens and Harry had to retain a laugh at how wide James' eyes got at the sight. Harry relayed the massive order before pulling his son to the table. "They're going to take a while with all that food." James nodded to him.

Harry added an extension charm to his pockets so that he could hold all the food they were about to be carrying back. The elves started bringing food, piling it on the table and Harry began to transfer it over to his pockets, making sure so as to not squash anything as he did. The elves also brought over two glasses of pumpkin juice for them to drink while they waited. Harry downed his quickly but James waited, drinking his more slowly. 

By the time they had all the food, Harry felt like his robe weighed about a ton. No matter how many extensions charms he added to it, it would still have some weight and his family had wanted a ton of food. James carried some as well, but Harry had the bulk of it in his pockets. As they walked back, James unwrapped and began eating a sandwich, humming contentedly as he did. Harry smiled at his son, watching him out of the corner of his eye. 

The trip back felt like it took forever when compared to the trip there, and they trip to the kitchens had even been accompanied by a break in the middle of the staircase down toward the dungeons. But the pair made it eventually. As they were beginning to walk toward the circle, voices chorused up at them, "What took you so long?" 

"You all and your food demands." Harry yelled back with a grin. He turned to say something to James when James's face paled. 

"Dad! That's him!" James exclaimed, his hand shaking as he pointed out a looming figure, swiftly walking toward him. 

The smile slid from Harry's face. "James! Run!" Harry demanded. James opened his mouth to protest but Harry shot him down before he had the chance. "Do what I say James. RUN!" 

The other wizard was dressed in all black. His hair was a deep red and cut neatly, held perfectly on his head. His eyes were covered by sunglasses but his skin was deathly pale. He wore a long, shimmering black robe which billowed as he walked, similar to Snape's. His slacks were black and the shirt under his robe matched it perfectly. His wand was drawn as he walked toward Harry. Harry threw off his own heavy robe and drew his wand, feeling the holly wand react to his distress. The triangle with the eye in the center was embroidered in gold like a crest, right over the man's heart. It stood out against the ebony surroundings of the clothing. The wizard threw his own robe off and raised his wand. Harry noted idly that his sleeves were rolled up which gave perfect notice to the eye and triangle tattoo on his right forearm, the arm that was also his wand arm and currently being pointed at Harry. 

Harry raised his own wand to react but it was too late. He knew which curse was coming, thanks to James' dream, so he was expecting it as it hit him, but that didn't stop the pain. It seared through him like he had been stuck on a fire. His veins felt like the fire had been injected straight into them. Every cell in his body felt like it was being ripped apart, every molecule felt like it was being pulled away from its brethren. Harry bit his tongue to try to keep from screaming in pain, but it was too much. It ripped through his lungs like metal claws were being scrapped through them, agonizingly slow. His heart felt like it was being squeezed in a meat compactor. His brain felt like it was being pushed and pulled from every direction, stretched and burned. Harry fell to his knees, sweat beading on his forehead. His mouth was still firmly clamped shut and he was determined to keep it that way. His eyes fell shut too as pain ricocheted across every surface of his body. It tore through his legs, making them feel like they were being pulled off. His arms felt like they were being ripped from their sockets a million times over. Harry's neck felt like it was being scratched at from a fire which burned on the inside and wouldn't stop. His throat was raw with a scream that wanted to escape, but every inch of control Harry had left fought it back. 

The pain lifted for a moment and Harry spit out the blood that had pooled in his mouth from biting his tongue. He looked up at the other wizard, his wand still raised at Harry. Harry smirked slightly. _Is that the best that you can do?_ Harry thought. Somehow, Harry's own wand had stayed in his hand, whether it be from clenching his fist in pain or because his wand was much like him and too stubborn to back down. 

The wizard gave him a smirk before the pain blinded Harry again. He bit down on his tongue once more, trying to keep the pain from overcoming him. But this time, he couldn't stay upright. It was as if a thousand daggers were being dragged across his body all at once, starting at every extremity and working in. Fire licked the inside of his veins and claws racked through his lungs. Harry collapsed on his side, white light blinding him entirely as he felt his body writhe on the ground. 

Somewhere, someone screamed. 

* * *

Tom saw the moment something was wrong. He hadn't been looking long enough to see the other wizard appear on the grounds of Hogwarts, but he did notice Harry told his boy to run. Tom jumped to his feet, first watching to make sure that Harry's son got back to his family then he ran forward to assist Harry. He was about halfway to him when the Cruciatus curse hit Harry. He watched Harry collapse to his knees and Tom's blood ran cold.

Tom stopped hearing his own heart after that. All he heard was his own footsteps and he ran, faster than he had before, forcing himself up the path toward Harry. Tom wasn't the only one running, several people were rushing to help Harry, but none of them, not even Tom made it. Tom hit what felt like a wall, but in all reality it was some type of barrier. No matter how hard Tom pushed with his body or his magic, he couldn't force himself through. He was right below Harry on the hill as was everyone else. They were all trapped, doomed to look up slightly as Harry writhed in pain. Tom banged on the barrier with his fists, trying to get through, but it wouldn't budge. Not even his magic was enough to take down the barrier. Around him people were yelling spells to try to bring it down, but Tom couldn't identify any of them. He heard an explosion which was probably the bombarda spell but nothing brought down the invisible wall between them and Harry Potter. 

_I must get to Harry._

_I must get to Harry._

_I must get to Harry._

_I need to get to Harry._

_Harry needs me._

_Hold on Harry._

_Please hold on._

After a few minutes of the curse being applied to Harry, it was lifted and Harry spit out the blood in his mouth. Tom could swear he saw Harry smirk but the smirk didn't last for long. The curse was suddenly applied again and it wasn't long before Harry fell to the ground, writhing in pain. 

Tom could't take it anymore. His head felt like it was going to explode and his heart felt like it was going to do much worse. As he watched Harry Potter lie there, squirming under the pain of the torture of the Curciatus curse, Tom Riddle dropped to his knees...

...And screamed. 

 

 

 


	9. Epilogue: Time After Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is such a short chapter.

_Dearest Teddy,_

_I was going to wait to write you until you got further into your school year, but I was too excited. How is your year at Hogwarts? I want to hear about everything. I want to know how your classes are going. Have you made any new_ _friends? What are your teachers like? I hope that they aren't being too hard on you. I know Professor Snape can be a little snippy, especially considering who your father and godfather happen to be. Oh well, what can you do about childhood grudges?_

_I was hoping to go into Diagon Alley to do some shopping today, please let me know if you need anything for school, please let me know, I will be happy to get it for you. Perhaps I will run into a Weasley or two while I am there. Wouldn't that be an unusual occurrence?_

_Have you heard from your father? Oh I do hope that you are not angry with us for our split. I just could not in good conscience hold your father where he did not want to be. I will explain more when you are older._

_But alas, the life of a grown up is not all that simple. I envy you sometimes, my sweet boy. I wish I could be a child still. There are some joys in the world which only a child can experience._

_On a cheerier note, have you spoken with your godfather? I'm sure Harry would love to hear from you. There is something there that you must hear of too._

_Please let me know if there is anything that you need for school. I cannot wait to hear back from you._

_With all my love,_

_Mother_

* * *

_Dear James,_

_I know that we ended the summer on a sour note, but I hope we could possibly move passed everything. I am very sorry for our last argument. I know you blame me for your father and I divorcing, and I can't fault you for that. But that is between your father and I. We are not the same people we once were when we got married. Things have changed, we both have changed. I'm very sorry that I angered you and that you feel so strongly on this._

_I do hope your year had been going well so far. I hope your classes have been going well. I am very anxious to hear about your year so far. I will be venturing into Diagon Alley later today and will probably be returning later this week, so if you may need anything please let me know._

_All my love,_

_Mom_

* * *

_Dear Albus,_

_I hope you, Lily, and your brother are doing well. I miss you three dearly._

_I know that it is unlikely that I will receive an answer from your brother. He was very angry at me when we last spoke, as you know. He is not very happy about your father and I leading separate lives now._

_I am very excited to hear about your school work and your life at Hogwarts so far. How have your classes been? Have you made any new friends? I hope that everything has been going well. I am venturing into Diagon Alley today and again later on this week, so if you need anything, or if your brother needs anything, please let me know._

_All my love,_

_Mom_

* * *

_Dear Lily,_

_I hope you are doing well Lily. I miss you dearly. You and your brothers. It's been very lonely sometimes without you all here._

_I do hope that your year had been going well, I am very excited to hear about it. I hope it's going well. How are your classes? How are your teachers? What are you friends like? Have you made any new friends?_

_I will be venturing into Diagon Alley later today and again this week, if you need anything, please let me know._

_I hope to hear from you soon._

_All my love,_

_Mom_

* * *

Long, sunset red hair stood out among the trinkets in the shop. The woman stood, bright hair falling like a curtain around her freckled face. Her hand drifted over a particular trinket in the shop which jumped out and latched itself to her hand. She felt herself smiling before she pried it off and set it down. She should have expected such a thing, but alas she hadn't. Instead, she just waited for something to happen. This was not a shop in which one could let their guard down. The woman slid along between the rows, looking as children played with toys and potions popped. She watched as they tried candies and subsequently threw up in bins. She felt herself smile as she watched them. So happy and full of life, willing to try anything. Their parents watched them disapprovingly, but they didn't care. One more year and they would be off to Hogwarts. For some it was more, but they didn't care. So they would take their toys and their fancy things which they got from this shop and they would go to school, far far away from their homes. They would be trained to do beautiful things. The fire haired woman smiled again.

"Ginerva." A voice rang out against the chaos of the store and the fiery haired woman looked up.

"Nymphadora." She answered, feeling slightly smug.

"I prefer Tonks, you know that." The other woman answered her.

"Well, I prefer Ginny. You know that." Ginny answered, a sly smile coming across her face. 

"Indeed." Tonks answered her. "Would you care to join me for some coffee or tea? I would love to catch up with you." 

Ginny waded across the sea of children. "Of course, lead the way Tonks."

A few minutes later the two women sat across from each other, outside a shop in Diagon Alley. Neither really paid attention to the name, they were merely paying attention to one another. Ginny sat with her ankles crossed, observing Tonks. Tonks's hair was bright pink at the moment. Her eyes shone as she evaluated Ginny, and Ginny evaluated her. It had been some time since the two women had a chance to speak to one another, alone. They were always surrounded by children or husbands, but for the both of them, things had changed. Neither had spoken since they left Fred and George's joke shop, except to order their drinks which were currently steaming in front of them. Tonks's hands were laced and rested on the surface of the table, every now and then her index finger would drift across her cup, but mostly neither moved. After they seemed like they had evaluated one another enough, they were finally ready to speak.

"So," Ginny began, taking a sip of the coffee she had ordered.

"So?" Tonks questioned. 

"I was sorry to hear about you and Remus." Ginny answered, setting the cup down. "I had thought you two were happy." 

Tonks let out a sigh. "Yes, we were. But...but I could not in good conscience let Remus stay with me when he was clearly in love with someone else."

"Someone else?" Ginny questioned, leaning forward.

"Oh yes." Tonks answered with a sigh. "He and Sirius, I'm afraid, have both been enamored with one another for a long time. Sirius had denied his feelings for a long time but I don't think that it was fair to keep someone from their love."

Ginny felt herself sighing, but said nothing. 

"And what about you? I had heard of yours and Harry's divorce." Tonks pressed. 

"Oh, well. That one is not due to affairs of the heart so much." Ginny took another drink of her coffee, but Tonks was still watching her, waiting for a response. "Alright, alright." Ginny said with a laugh. "Harry and I, we just grew up. We grew apart. We were driven together when we were very young. Everyone just kind of expected us to be together, even though it seemed kind of forced. I mean, yes I had a crush on him since I was a kid, but I was just a kid then. It's one thing to meet one's idol, yes I did marry him, but we just grew into two different people. Harry never knew life without violence in one way or another, he was always handling some great distress. And he never knew what he was like without it. I never knew what he was like without it. I mean, we all were in love with Harry Potter, how could we not be? But...Harry grew into someone different than I was expecting. I grew into someone different that I was expecting. We grew apart. I didn't want to stay there. I couldn't..." Ginny trailed off. "Am I making any sense?" 

Tonks looked her over. "I see what you're meaning. You grew into two different people and you needed to go your own ways. It's ok. It happens." 

Ginny found herself nodding as she drank her coffee. Tonks too drank her own coffee and the pair sat in silence. 

Eventually they bid one another goodbye and went their separate ways. 

"Do take care of yourself, Ginny, won't you?" Ginny smiled into the hug with Tonks.

"I will. And you too." 

Tonks pulled away, putting her hand on Ginny's cheek. "Of course Ginny. And keep in touch." 

"I will Tonks." 

The women went their separate ways.

* * *

The castle sat on a dark hill. It's ominous walls shadowed the grounds below it. There was no grass on the property, only rocks and bones. They littered the ground like leaves, scattered this way and that. The brittle bones crunched underfoot as a man, dressed in a black cloak, walked toward the entrance of the castle on the hilltop. It felt as if everything ominous in the world was drawn here. Though it was daylight, there was no sunshine. Grey clouds swirled around the castle like a lazy cyclone, blocking the sun from every shining against the black stone of the castle. A lazy wind whipped around the hill, which allowed no noise to escape. The closer the cloaked man drew to the castle, the louder the bustle of the castle became. Even slightly lower on the hill, it was impossible to hear what was going on, but now that the man was nearly at the gate, he could hear everything. 

A woman's screams echoed against the castle walls, making the man want to cringe. But he didn't. He merely walked, approaching the iron gate which kept the outside world at bay. The man withdrew a wand from his cloak and flicked it. There seemed to be no change until the man walked through what appeared before to be a solid gate, which solidified again behind him. 

The scene in the courtyard of the castle made one wish for the bone strewn pathways outside of it. Men, women, and children were chained to the walls of the courtyard, bleeding and bruised. Their screams created a symphony of pain as they begged for death, for life, for anything other than the torture they now received. Some where drawn up onto crosses and held until death inevitably came for them. They were on knees, too raw to continue to sit on, but they had no other choice. It was a wonder that their jaws even worked to continue their screaming. There had to be a total of twenty people in that yard, begging for something to save them from the pain. The man eyed them warily from under the cloak. The stench of blood clung to the air and the substance itself pooled on the ground, the red surface reflecting the grey clouds above it. 

"Ah! There he is! The prodigal son returns!" The voice echoed across the courtyard above the pitiful screams around it.

The man in the cloak looked up to see the speaker. Another man in a cloak walked toward him, though this man had his hood down. His hair was a milky white color and his skin mirrored it. The only color which stood out was his eyes which were a deep brown. 

"Come with me. We have much to discuss." The milky haired man said to his cloaked friend, clapping him on the shoulder. The pair walked inside the castle. It was light entirely by candle light. Their footsteps echoed on the walls. The inside was much brighter than the outside. Everything was gold; the floor, the ceiling, the furniture. The two men walked in silence down a hall and into a parlor before the hooded man finally revealed his face.

His hair was long and tied behind his head and it was chocolate in color. His eyes were a light brown, reflecting the firelight of the room. His skin was tanned from time spent out in the sun. A scar ran from his eye to lips, curving around his cheek. 

"Father." The hooded man said.

"What have you to report? Did all go well?" The milky haired man gestured to one of the two chairs next to the fireplace, sitting on one himself. 

The hooded man sat, pulling his cloak off and lying it on the back of the chair. On his chest was embroidered a golden triangle with an eye in the center. He pulled his sleeves up, revealing the same symbol in a golden tattoo on his right forearm. 

"It went well, Father. They are all at the second Hogwarts. Though they don't quite know what they are doing there." 

The milky haired man chuckled. "Oh good. Good. They won't know, will they? So much power in one place. It will be so easy to corrupt." 

The younger of the two looked into the fire. "Do you mean to make them like us, Father? Will you make them join us?" 

The older man's deep brown eyes lit up as though a fire had been ignited behind them. "Oh yes. Mmm. Imagine the power. Imagine how much damage we could do with them behind us." 

The younger man smiled. It was a cruel smile. "The first stage in is beginning, Father."

The milky haired man smiled again. "Good. Your brother and his friends will cause much damage to them."

"Do you really think that torturing Harry Potter will cause them all to come to our side?" 

The older man didn't answer for quite some time. He reached up and ran his hand across his clean shaven face, looking into the fire as he did. His son began to wonder if his father would ever actually answer. Then, he finally did.

"Yes. Harry Potter is a leader. Once the Cruciatus curse drives him to insanity, your brother will be able to mold him. Shape him. The rest will follow their leader, bringing them straight to us."

"Very good, Father." 

"It really is, isn't it. It happens all the time." The milk haired man paused. "Time after time." 

The two of them sat in silence then, listening to the screams of the people in the courtyard echo around them. 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus ends part one of the series....


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